Fullmetal Heart of Gold
by kash30032000
Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.
1. The Request

**Fullmetal Heart of Gold**

**kash30032000**

**Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.**

**Chapter One: The Request**

"Brother!" called a voice. "Brother, wake up! You have a visitor!"

The boy called "brother" was a small lump in the bundle of blankets that lay on top of the bed. The bundle shifted as the boy began to stretch his waking muscles. His small foot was the first part of his body to leave the blankets followed by another foot and two more arms.

The boy sat up stretching his arms to the ceiling while stretching his feet towards the foot of his bed, his mouth was opened in a huge yawn. The boy slowly opened his golden eyes, his small bedroom coming into view.

This boy's name was Edward Elric. He was a ten-year-old living in New Bark Town with his younger brother Alphonse and his mother Trisha. He rarely saw his father, Hoenheim, because of his father's work. Hoenheim was a Pokemon researcher, who traveled to different regions looking for new species of Pokemon. He was currently in the Kanto region.

"Brother, will you hurry up," called the voice.

Ed looked towards the door with annoyance. He was used to sleeping until lunch time during the summer after spending ten months of waking up at seven o' clock. Glancing at the clock on his side table he saw that it was only eight o' clock. Who would be looking for him so early in the morning?

Ed knew it was only a matter of time before Alphonse came up the stairs with a bucket of water to dump on him. That was the younger boy's tactic of getting him out of bed after his mother was tired of calling his name.

Ed pushed the covers back getting out of bed. He stretched to his sides before walking over to the mirror that was attached to his mahogany colored dresser.

He stared at his appearance. His shoulder length blonde hair was all over the place suffering from a case of very bad pillow head hair. He had crust around his mouth from his nightly drooling and the eye crust in his eyes added to his morning look. He needed to do something about his appearance before he greeted his guest.

Ed crossed over to the closet which was already wide opened. Toys, books, and other clothing spilled from the closet onto the floor making his room look messy; the complete opposite of his brother's. While Ed was sometimes messy, not caring where he placed his belongings, Alphonse took pride in tidying his room.

Ed waded through the mess of toys, books, and clothing to reach the clothing that was hanging in his closet. He looked at his clothing choice before pulling down a pair of blue jeans, a black short sleeve tee shirt, and a red hoodie.

He stumbled a bit as he turned back towards the dresser. He opened the top drawer pulling out a pair of light blue boxers, a pair of white socks, and a black belt.

His items in hand he headed towards his door with the intentions of going to the bathroom for a shower and to brush his teeth. Before he reached the door, it slammed open sending a vibration through the wall. In the door way was a boy an inch taller than him. He had golden hair that was a tad bit darker than Ed's and golden eyes that were glaring at Ed.

Ed gulped looking down at the boy's hand. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it was empty.

"Hey, Al," Ed greeted.

"Don't 'hey, Al' me," said Alphonse angrily. "I've been calling you for five minutes. Just what are you doing?"

"I just woke up, geez." Ed shifted all of his clothing in one hand so that he could put his fist on his hip. "Anyway. Who was the visitor? Winry?"

"Not Winry, no. It was Pinako."

"Pinako?" repeated Ed.

Pinako was the Pokemon Professor that lived in New Bark Town. She was known for studying Pokemon evolution and was also the person who gave trainers their beginner Pokemon when they turned ten.

Although Ed was already of age to use a Pokemon, he decided he wanted to wait until his brother, who was a year younger, was old enough to get his Pokemon so that they could travel together.

Ed's best friend, Winry, was a year older than him so she had already gotten her first Pokemon. Like Ed, however, she wanted to wait until the two boys were old enough to get their own Pokemon so that they could travel together. The three kids did almost everything together.

"I wonder what she wants," Ed said to himself.

He startled when Al's face appeared inches from his. There was a look of impatient on the younger boy's face.

"Well she left for her lab," Al informed him. "So you better hurry up and get over there." Ed nodded and Al moved away. His expression softened. "It's impolite to make a woman wait."

"I know, I know," replied Ed.

He ran out of the room heading for the bathroom.

* * *

Ed walked into the kitchen fully dressed. Alphonse and a woman with long chestnut hair was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. The woman looked up from the table with a warm smile on her face. She got to her feet as Ed approached the table.

"Look who's finally decided to join us," she said.

"Oh come on, Mom," responded Ed. "You act it took me hours to get ready."

Trisha gave a small laugh. She walked over to Ed so that she could straighten his hoody. Once she was done fidgeting with his clothes, she smoothed out his hair smashing down the small strand he had sticking up.

"Mom," whined Ed swatting her hand to the side. "I'm ten-years-old. I'm old enough to train Pokemon, I don't need you grooming me."

Ed pushed the strand back up.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "No matter how old you are, you'll always be my little Pikachu."

That comment got a laugh out of Al. Ed sent his younger brother a glare. His lips then formed a sneer.

"Don't laugh," said Ed. "You're her Chikorita."

Al's face turned red. He lowered his head to the bowl of cereal he was eating.

"Ed," said Trisha. Ed looked back up at his mom. "Pinako wanted to see you. She got tired of waiting so she asked that you come to her lab ASAP."

"Can't I have breakfast?"

Ed made a movement for the table, but Trisha placed her hands firmly on his shoulders stopping the movement.

"You could have eaten breakfast if you had woken up at a reasonable time," teased Al.

"Hey, twelve o' clock is a reasonable time."

Trisha walked over to the counter by the sink grabbing a apple out of the fruit basket. She rinsed the apple with cold water before passing it over to Ed.

"It sounded urgent," she said as Ed accepted the red fruit. "You should go see what she wants."

Annoyed, Ed bit into the apple. He knew better than to argue with his mother. He didn't do it because he would get in trouble, he chose not to do it because it was disrespectful. He and Al were always respectful to their parents.

Ed turned out of the kitchen heading for the front door. He figured that he might as well get this meeting with Pinako over so that he could have some breakfast and then go back to sleep.

Ed stepped out into the summer morning. It was early June so the weather wasn't that intense. It was about seventy three degrees. Being in the town that was known for its wind, the weather didn't get too hot.

"Chika!" said a cute voice.

Ed looked towards the white fence that was some feet away from the front door. There he saw a small light green creature. There were green bulbs around its neck that concealed its vines and a large green leaf on the top of its head. It was looking at Ed with large red eyes.

Ed smiled recognizing the creature as a Pokemon called Chikorita. In fact, he personally knew this Chikorita.

"Hey, Chikorita," greeted Ed. He walked over to the leaf Pokemon. He knelt down so that he could pet it on top of the head. "If you're here then-"

"Edward!" a voice called happily.

Ed looked up from petting Chikorita. He saw a young girl with long blonde hair running towards him, waving. She was wearing a short black skirt, a white tee shirt, a black jacket that stopped at her middle, and black boots that only showed the top of her socks. She wore her blonde hair in a ponytail. There was some hair that was as long as her ponytail on either side of her short bangs.

The girl stopped running when she reached the fence. When Ed got to his feet, the girl appeared to be a few inches taller than him.

"Hey, Winry," he greeted. "What's up?"

"Chikorita and I were going to do some fishing," she answered. "Do you and Al want to come?"

"Can't right now, Win. I have to go see Pinako."

"Grandma? But...why?"

"Don't know." Ed put his free hand in his pocket looking further down the road at a large house that was the Pinako's laboratory. "You want to come with me?"

"I don't know," she answered slowly. "I wanted to see if I could catch a Chinchou. They evolve into Lanturn you know." She gave a thoughtful look for a moment. Ed waited impatiently for the answer. Either she was going to go or not. She was wasting valuable sleep time. "Alright," she finally said. "Let's head over to Grandma's lab." She looked down at Chikorita. "That okay with you?"

"Chika!" Chikorita answered happily.

Ed walked passed the female trainer and her Pokemon heading in the direction towards Pinako's lab. He heard footsteps behind him that told him Winry was following behind him. He imagined cute little Chikorita walking along side its trainer.

Ed took a glance behind him at the two. Winry was looking at the scenery to her left not really paying attention to where she was walking. Chikorita was down below bouncing with happiness. Seeing them like this, Ed felt a twinge of jealousy.

He wanted his own Pokemon to go fishing with and talk to. However, he didn't want to get his first Pokemon without Al. He wanted to share his special moment with his brother, the boy who shared all of his special moments with him. The reason Winry didn't leave for her journey was because she didn't want to travel alone.

"Oh, hey," said Winry suddenly. Ed quickly turned his attention to the front before she noticed him staring. "Grandma got some new starter Pokemon at the lab yesterday. She couldn't get any Chikorita, but she does have two Totodile and a Cyndaquil. They're all so cute!"

"That's great, Winry," commented Ed. "But I told you, I'm not getting my Pokemon until Al's ten. I want to do this with him."

"I know."

New Bark Town wasn't as big as some of the cities in Johto. The town was mainly made up of residential houses and some stores. There weren't any Pokemon Centers to treat injured Pokemon so the best place to go was Pinako's laboratory which was only minutes from Ed's house. It was a shorter distance from Winry's house, who lived next door to the lab.

It took them ten minutes to reach the laboratory. The building was the largest out of the town being three stories tall.

Pinako's laboratory was built towards the back of the town so that it had a spaces back yard for all of the Pokemon that other trainers brought her to watch over. The front yard wasn't as big, but there was enough room where trainers could have Pokemon battles.

The building itself was white with a red roof. There was a case of stairs that led to the wooden front door. A few inches from the door's frame was a bell with a string attached for signaling arrival.

Ed climbed the stairs to get to the front door. He grabbed the string that was hanging from the bell giving it a jiggle making the bell ring. He stepped back away from the door waiting to be greeted.

"Why are you ringing the bell?" asked Winry.

It was a habit for Ed to ring other people's bells so that he could at least let them know someone had arrived at their house. It was better than barging in and having someone's Houndoom take a chump out of his leg. Not that it has happened to him.

Ed moved to open the door when it swung open hitting him in the face. He stumbled onto the ground clutching his nose and mouth with his hand. A man wearing a white lab coat peered out of the door.

"Oh, it's Edward," he said. "And little Winry too." He began walking away further into the lab. "Come on in guys," he called over his shoulder. "Professor Pinako's waiting for you."

Ed and Winry entered the building. They were led through a long corridor which eventually opened up to a spacious round room. There were eight bookshelves lined a quarter way into the room with a gap between the fourth and fifth shelf. Beyond the bookshelf was the area where Pinako spent most of her time conducting her research.

In the back of the room was a device that healed Pokemon while they were in their Pokeballs, a computer, and a table that held a few Pokeballs and a massive amount of papers. On the right side of the wall was a door that led to another hall which led to a staircase that led to the upper levels. On the left side of the wall was a door that led to the backyard area.

The man led them to the back of the room where Pinako was in the midst of writing on some documents.

"Professor," called the man. "Edward and Winry are here."

"Thank you, Seth," replied Pinako.

Seth gave Pinako a bow before leaving the two young children with her. Pinako didn't look up from her papers. Since she was busy with her work, Ed took the time to finish his lonely apple.

He was half way done with his apple when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Looking down he saw Chikorita staring at his apple with wide eyes. He knew that look.

Ed threw the remainder of his apple down at Chikorita. It rolled across the floor coming to a stop in front of the Pokemon. Chikorita took a bite out of the fruit and chewed it happily. It was very cute!

"It's about time you got here, Pipsqueak," Pinako finally said when she finished with the papers.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE CAN RIDE A CATERPIE LIKE A PONYTA!?" yelled Ed.

One of Ed's pet peeves was people calling him short. He wasn't short, he just wasn't a towering giant. It wasn't like the old Professor could talk anyway. He was taller than she was.

Ed watched as Pinako grabbed her pipe off the table along with a book of matches. She placed the pipe in her mouth before lighting it. She inhaled the smoke, removed the pipe, and exhaled letting the smoke escape her mouth.

Pipe in hand, she walked over to the two children.

"Calm down," she said. "I have a request for you." Ed raised an eyebrow intrigued. "I got a call from my friend Shou Tucker, who lives just passed Cherrygrove City. He wanted me to take a look at a Pokemon he discovered, but I have loads of work to do here at the lab."

"So you want me to watch over the lab?" asked Ed with excitement.

"Not quite. I want to send you to Mr. Tucker's house so that you can go pick up the Pokemon."

Ed was confused at this request. He figured that it would be a better idea to send Winry who not only had her own Pokemon, but had more practice with Pokemon than he did.

He had never left New Bark Town. He was wondering why she would ask him to leave the town alone. He didn't have a Pokemon and he had already told her about his refusal to take one when she first offered him a beginner's Pokemon.

Pinako smoked on her pipe a bit before turning her head and releasing some smoke. She looked back at Ed.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. "I was thinking about giving you a Pokemon to make the trip a little more bearable."

"No," Ed said flatly. "I'm not accepting a Pokemon until Al turns ten. Why not send Winry?"

Winry looked at Ed in shock.

"Are you crazy?" she asked. "I'm not going all the way to Cherrygrove City by myself. You need to stop being so stubborn and choose a Pokemon. You don't have to leave for your training yet."

"No," Ed said stubbornly. "I want to do this with Al. We've been together our whole life. We're not separating now."

"How about this," said Pinako. "I'll give Al his Pokemon early so you can start your journey if you take a Pokemon now and go to Cherrygrove City."

Ed pondered over this. He could start on his Pokemon journey upon his return if he travel to see this Shou Tucker. He liked the idea of Al starting his journey early so that Ed could start his even though he was late. The only real problem was that he didn't want to go alone. He also couldn't go without his mother's permission.

"I'll need to talk things over with my family," he finally said. "If my mom says yes, I'll need someone to come with me. It can't be Al since you're giving him his Pokemon after the fact."

"I'll go with you," said Winry. "I happen to know the way."

"Huh? How do you know the way if you've never been outside of New Bark Town either?"

"I read maps. Got the whole map of Johto up here," she said touching her temple.

"Fine, fine, you can come. I'll head over to my house to ask permission."

"Give us a call when you have your answer," said Pinako.

Ed waved at Winry and Pinako before heading back towards the front door. Things were moving too fast for him. He didn't think he'd be able to start his journey until after Al's tenth birthday.

He was already six months behind the other trainers who had left New Bark Town when they turned ten. He imagined they had seven badges by now and about fifty different Pokemon.

Once Ed reached the fence he broke out into a run heading towards his house. He doubted that his mom would have a problem letting him travel to Cherrygrove City. She was excited when Ed became old enough to travel with Pokemon. She didn't push him to leave the town because she respected his wish of traveling with his younger brother.

Running home only took six minutes compared to the ten minute walk. Ed stopped on the front porch to catch his breath. He then let himself into the house where he found Trisha in the living room vacuuming. Al was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Mom," he called. He crossed the living room to stand in front of her. Trisha turned off the vacuum to listen to her son. "Pinako asked me to go to meet a friend of hers just past Cherrygrove City. She offered to give me a Pokemon to accompany me and she said she'd give Al one too upon my return. Can I go?"

Trisha stared at her son. Ed was starting to have second doubts about his mother's decision. Cherrygrove City wasn't exactly around the corner. It was hours away and who knew how long it would take to meet Mr. Tucker.

"Let's not forget that I'm old enough to start my training," said Ed. He was ready to launch into a list of reason of why she should let him go.

Trisha smiled. She beamed at her son before smoothing his hair so that his antenna was flatten against the rest of his hair.

"Of course you can go," she said. "My little man is growing up. I'm so proud of you."

Ed moved Trisha's head away. He ran his hand through his hair so that the long strand could stand up again.

"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" asked Al. "Let's not forget you don't know squat about Pokemon."

"I know enough," Ed said angrily. "Besides, I won't be by myself. Winry's going with me."

Ed's face turned a bright red color when he realized what he had said. The smug look on Al's face didn't make matters any better. There were rumors spreading around town that Ed and Winry were a couple.

It wasn't that he didn't like Winry. He just thought of her more as a sister than a girlfriend. At least that was what he kept telling himself.

"That's enough boys," said Trisha. "Ed, you're going to need to pack some supplies for your trip. I also want you to take your father's old Pokegear with you so that we can stay in contact."

"Mom, I'm only a town away," commented Ed.

"A phone call a day keeps the pedophiles away," she replied. "Now go upstairs and get ready."

Ed headed for the stairs. As he was ascending them, he heard the vacuum. Trisha had gone back to her daily cleaning.

He entered the small bedroom grabbing the back pack from his computer chair as he went passed. He dumped the contents of his bag on the floor replacing the items with the essentials he would need for the trip.

He was just zipping his bag when Trisha and Alphonse entered his room. Trisha had in her hand a ziplock bag that contained two sandwiches, two bags of potato chips, two bags of carrot sticks, two apple juices, and two cookies. This was Ed's lunch and dinner.

In her other hand was an object that looked like a large flip phone. It was blue with white Pokeball designs on the sides. There were scratches on the cover from being used so much. This was the Pokegear that belonged to Hoenheim.

The Pokegear was able to complete different task such as making phone calls. There were other applications to purchase such as the popular radio app.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Trisha.

"Yep," answered Ed. "I just have to call Winry to let her know."

"Then you'll need this."

Trisha held out the Pokegear. Ed got to his feet to exchange his back pack for the Pokegear. He dialed Pinako's laboratory number while Trisha added his food to his supplies.

Edward held the Pokegear to his ear listening as the laboratory's phone rang. After three rings someone picked up.

"Professor Pinako's laboratory," said Seth.

"Hi, it's Edward," said Ed. "Is Winry there?"

"She's out back feeding the Pokemon. Please hold."

Classical music began to play as he was placed on hold.

"So, Brother," said Al. "Have you thought about which Pokemon you're going to choose as your partner."

"Not really," answered Ed. "I just know it won't be a Chikorita. Pinako couldn't get one. What about you?"

"I haven't thought about it either. I just want a Pokemon to be my friend and help me in my goal to become a Pokemon breeder."

The music to the phone was cut short as Winry answered with a hello.

"Hey, Win," greeted Ed. "I'll be at the lab in ten minutes."

"That's great. I've already got some supplies packed."

"Great. See you at the lab. Bye."

Ed closed the Pokegear disconnecting the phone conversation. Trisha held out the pack to Ed. He took it placing it on his back.

"I want you to be very careful," said Trisha. "I want you to call me when you get to Cherrygrove City, when you get to Mr. Tucker's house, when you get back to Cherrygrove City, and when you return to Pinako's lab."

"Geez, Mom," said Ed. "I'll only be gone for a day."

"You can never be too careful."

Trisha raised her hand towards Ed's head in an attempt to flatten his strand of hair. Ed took an evasive step back.

"I gotta go," he said. He turned to Al extending a fist. "I'll see you tomorrow, Al."

"Sure," replied Al.

Al extended his fist gently bumping into his brother's fist. Ed placed the Pokegear in the side pocket of his bag, gave his brother and mom a last wave, and left out of the room.

He thundered down the stairs and out of the front door. He began running the distance back towards the laboratory.

This was going to be his first night away from his brother. He had spent a night at Winry's place loads of time, but Al was usually with him. His stomach turned with a mixture of excitement and sadness.

It wasn't like he wasn't going to come back to New Bark Town. He had to remind himself that he would only be away for one night. Plus he'll have the company of Winry, Chikorita, and his new Pokemon.

Ed reached the door in eight minutes. He didn't bother knocking this time. He allowed himself inside where he found Pinako and Winry waiting for him.

Winry was carrying a pink back pack with her pink Pokegear in the side pocket. Chikorita was nowhere to be seen. It was probably resting in its Pokeball.

"Thank you so much for doing this, Ed," said Pinako. "Do you have everything?"

"Yep," answered Ed coming to a stop beside Winry.

"Then all that's left is for you to choose your Pokemon." Pinako moved over to a machine that held three red and white balls. "These Pokeballs contain three beginner Pokemon. I couldn't get my hands on a Chikorita so there are two Totodile to choose from, both with different personalities."

Pinako grabbed two of the Pokeballs from the machine. She threw both Pokeballs. The Pokeballs made a popping noise as they opened. A white light materialized from them as they slowly formed into the Pokemon inside.

Once the light disappeared, Ed was able to see the Pokemon that were inside of the Pokeball. They were both small blue alligators that stood on two feet. They had red eyes like Chikorita and a large mouth with sharp teeth. There was a beige color on the two Pokemon's chest. Purple plates were on its back going all the way down to its tail.

"These are the water type Pokemon, Totodile," said Pinako.

They looked almost identical. The only difference Ed could tell between the two Pokemon was the facial expression. The Totodile on the right had a big smile on its face while the Totodile on the left had a very serious expression.

"Toto Toto Dile!" said the Totodile on the right as it bounced joyfully from foot to foot.

"So cute," said Winry.

She placed her hands on her thighs as she bent over to get a closer look. Pinako grabbed the remaining Pokeball. She threw it like she had done the other two releasing the Pokemon.

This Pokemon was rather small. It was about a foot smaller than Totodile standing at only a foot and eight inches. It was blue and white with the blue being on the top of the Pokemon and the white being underneath. It had small eyes, a pointy muzzle, and four circles on its back. Its hindlegs were larger than its front legs.

"This is Cyndaquil," Pinako introduced. "It's a fire type."

Ed smiled down at the fire Pokemon. It was as cute as the other two, but there was something about this Pokemon that pulled him towards it.

He bent forward to get a closer look. Cyndaquil was suddenly alert and then suddenly gone. Ed blinked in shock staring at the floor where Cyndaquil once stood.

"That little guy is fast," said Winry.

"Yes," replied Pinako. "It has a hasty nature."

Ed looked behind him in time to see Cyndaquil zip around the bookshelves on the left side.

He jogged over to the bookshelves to peer behind them. There wasn't a sign of the blue and white Pokemon. He scratched his head sure that Cyndaquil had come this way.

He looked to the bookshelves on the right. Cyndaquil wasn't there either. Did the fire type Pokemon run into the hallway?

Ed was about to give up on finding Cyndaquil when he heard a pitter-patter of feet overhead. He looked up to see Cyndaquil quickly running the length of the bookshelf on the left side.

Cyndaquil stopped near the edge of the shelf right above Ed when he noticed the short blond looking at it.

"Quil," Cyndaquil greeted.

"You're really fast," said Ed.

Cyndaquil's face flushed with embarrassment. It covered its eyes with its small hands taking some steps back. Unfortunately, Cyndaquil could no longer see where it was going so it was slowly heading towards the edge of the shelf.

Ed sprung into action as Cyndaquil foot made contact with the air. Cyndaquil gave a cry of surprised, spun around, and fell off the shelf. Ed made it in time to catch the Pokemon before it hit the ground.

"Quil. Cyndaquil," said Cyndaquil, thanking Ed.

"You're a little klutz," teased Ed. Cyndaquil blushed again hiding its face. Ed laughed. "I want this one."

"That's a very good choice," said Pinako. She held out Cyndaquil's Pokeball. "You can keep Cyndaquil in this."

Ed accepted the Pokeball. He pushed the button in the middle of the ball shrinking it so that it was able to fit into the available side pocket of his back pack.

"You want to travel with me, Cyndaquil?" Ed asked the Pokemon.

"Cyndaquil," Cyndaquil answered happily.

"Then let's go!"

"Shou Tucker's house is a little north of Cherrygrove City," said Pinako. "To get to the city-"

"I know the way, Grandma," interrupted Winry. She placed her hands on Ed's shoulders and began pushing him towards the door. She turned to look back at Pinako when they reached the door. "We'll be back tomorrow afternoon," she said with a wave.

Ed walked out of the door with out the guidance of Winry. The wind ruffled his hair as he looked down the road that led out of the city. He heard the door of the laboratory close behind him.

"You know," said Winry softly. "I'm a little worried. This is the first time we've left home."

Ed turned to look at Winry.

"We'll be fine," he reassured her. "We have our Pokemon with us and we'll only be gone a day." Cyndaquil squirmed out of Ed's arms so that he was able to crawl up his body and come to a rest on the boy's right shoulder. Ed petted Cyndaquil's head before continuing. "You don't have to worry about Pina-"

"I was more worried about you."

"Me?"

"You know you won't last two hours without Al," she teased. "You'll probably come running back to town before we reach Cherrygrove City."

"No way," replied Ed. He allowed Winry to walk passed him before following. "I was born to travel."

Winry slowed down so that Ed could catch up with her. Together, they walked down the road feeling both excited and a little nervous.

**So what do you think? Yes? No? Feel free to drop me a comment.**


	2. Cherrygrove City

**Fullmetal Heart of Gold**

**kash30032000**

**Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.**

**Chapter Two: Cherrygrove City**

Ed, Winry, and Cyndaquil watched the scene from a distance. Several feet away two males were standing opposite each other, Pokemon standing in front of them feet away.

The first person, the one closer to the trio, looked to be in his mid twenties. He was tall with short black hair. He was wearing a pair of black trousers and a clean, white buttoned shirt. His black dress shoes complimented his casual look.

In front of this man was a Pokemon that looked similar to Cyndaquil except larger. It held the same blue and white pattern as Cyndaquil, but it was a foot and three inches taller. There were also flames shooting out of its head and back.

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" asked Ed.

Winry reached behind her digging into her bag's side pocket. She pulled out a small, pink device that looked smaller than a portable DVD player. There was a Pokeball design some inches from the middle of the case.

She pressed the button in the middle of the Pokeball design allowing the device to open resembling a Nintendo DS. The top half looked like a television while the bottom half looked like a touch screen.

"Is that the new Pokedex Pinako made?" Ed asked.

"Yep," answered Winry. "It has information about the Pokemon found in both Kanto and Johto."

Winry pointed the Pokedex at the flaming Pokemon. The screen flashed as the Pokedex scanned its contents for the information on the Pokemon Winry was aiming at. Next second a picture of the man's Pokemon was on the top screen while the information for the Pokemon was on the touch screen part.

"Quilava," said the Pokedex in a robotic voice. "The Volcano Pokemon. Quilava is the evolved form of Cyndaquil. Be careful if it turns it's back during battle. It means that it will attack with the fire on its back."

"So that's Cyndaquil's evolved form, huh?" said Ed. He stared at Quilava with a look of awe.

"That's a really powerful Quilava," said Winry. "According to the Pokedex, that Quilava has great speed and attacks."

"I have to watch the battle," Ed said eager. He looked down at Cyndaquil who was still watching the scene. "How about it?"

Cyndaquil looked up at Ed.

"Quil," he answered, nodding.

"Well it should be an interesting match," said Winry. "We have the fire type Pokemon Quilva battling against the water type Pokemon Croconaw."

Ed looked towards Quilava's opponent. It kind of looked like the Totodile he had seen at Pinako's lab. This Pokemon was taller than Totodile with a smaller muzzle and fatter body.

"What does the Pokedex say about that Pokemon?"

Winry moved the Pokedex away from Quilava pointing it at Croconaw. The screened flashed as a picture of Croconaw appeared. The screen at the bottom changed showing the stats of the water Pokemon.

"Croconaw," said the Pokedex. "The Big Jaw Pokemon and the evolved form of Totodile. If it loses a fang, a new one grows back in its place. There are always forty-eight fangs lining its mouth."

"Croconaw looks strong too," said Ed. "Let's go watch!"

Ed and Cyndaquil went running towards the two trainers and their Pokemon. Croconaw's trainer looked up from the field watching as Ed and Cyndaquil approached. Quilava's trainer turned around with a look of surprise.

Ed and Cyndaquil stopped a foot away.

"Huh?" said Croconaw's trainer. "What do you want, kid?"

"We just wanted to watch your battle," answered Ed. "I've never seen a Pokemon battle."

Croconaw's trainer looked down at the happy Cyndaquil at Ed's feet. Cyndaquil was still in its cute stage so it was at a level between three and five.

"New trainer, huh?" responded the trainer. "Of course you can watch. Take note on the proper way to win a battle."

The two trainers turned their attention back to their Pokemon just as Winry approached.

"Since I have the advantage, you can go first," said Croconaw's trainer.

"Alright, but you'll regret it," commented Quilava's trainer. "Quilava, use dig!"

Quilava jumped into the air before making a nosedive into the ground below creating a hole and disappearing from sight.

"Wow that was fast," said Ed, he was staring at the hole where Quilava had disappeared.

"That's amateur stuff," said Croconaw's trainer. "Croconaw, aim at the hole and use water gun. That'll put out the fire on that Pokemon."

"Uh-oh," said Winry. "Quilava wouldn't be able to escape in that hole."

"How come?" asked Ed.

"Well think." Winry thought about Quilava digging a tunnel underground trying to make its way underneath Croconaw. Croconaw was standing next to the hole preparing to use water gun. "When Croconaw fills the hole with water, Quilava won't have anywhere to escape." She imagined Croconaw filling the hole with water causing Quilava's dead body to float to the top. Croconaw danced in a victory celebration. "That's too cruel."

Quilava's trainer laughed.

"Don't worry about Quilava," said its trainer. "Quilava, out of the hole!" Croconaw spouted water out of its mouth into the hole. Quilava jumped out of the ground creating a second hole the second Croconaw started the attack. "Flame wheel!"

Quilava quickly breathed out a large flame. It flipped while in midair creating a flaming wheel around its body. Quilava landed on the ground before rushing at Croconaw. It smashed into the water Pokemon sending it spiraling into the ground before the Big Jaw Pokemon could end its attack.

"Awesome," said Ed in awe.

"Quil," said Cyndaquil in equal awe.

Croconaw got to its feet. There were scuff marks on its body from the fall, but other than that it looked fine.

"The heck? Quilava made a direct hit."

"Don't forget that fire attacks won't do much against a water Pokemon like Croconaw," Winry reminded him.

"Croconaw, water gun!" commanded Croconaw's trainer.

"Quilava, dodge it and use swift!" commanded Quilava's trainer.

Croconaw took a deep breath before releasing its water gun attack. Quilava quickly dodged the attack by jumping to the right. Once it landed on four feet, it zipped zigzag patterns towards Croconaw before vanishing from sight. Croconaw stopped the attack to look around for Quilava.

Quilava appeared seconds later behind Croconaw. It opened its mouth releasing a series of golden stars. Croconaw turned around only to get hit in the middrift by the attack. Croconaw was pushed off its feet by the force of the attack and went flying in the direction towards its trainer.

"Croconaw!" cried Croconaw's trainer with worry.

"Great job, Quilava," praised Quilava's trainer. "Now use smokescreen!"

Quilava got to its hindlegs. It breathed out a thick black smoke that slowly began to cloud the field, including the area where Ed, Winry, and Cyndaquil stood. Everyone began to choke on the smokescreen.

"I-I can't see," choked Ed.

"Quilava," choked Quilava's trainer. "Tackle!"

Croconaw suddenly gave a cry of pain. There was a heavy thud to the ground. When the smokescreen lifted, Croconaw was lying on the ground unable to battle while Quilava was standing in front of it on all fours, in an offensive position. There was a tough expression on its face.

"Looks like I win," said Quilava's trainer. "That means..." There was a pause before a big smile appeared on his face. "Victory dance!"

Quilava got to its hindlegs with a smile on its face. It raised its arms in hula position before dancing the hula. It's trainer copied the dance moves in celebration.

"Quilava. Quilava. Quilava," sang Quilava as it danced.

"Well I admit defeat," said Croconaw's trainer. "Never thought I'd lose to a fire type Pokemon."

Croconaw's trainer grabbed a small Pokeball from around his waist. He pressed the button in the middle making the ball larger. He then aimed the ball at the exhausted Croconaw. The ball emitted a red light encasing Croconaw. The Pokemon was slowly sucked into the ball.

Croconaw's trainer shrunk the ball that contained Croconaw and placed it around its waist.

He walked over to Quilava's trainer and extended his hand. Quilava and its trainer stopped dancing. The trainers shook hands which was a symbol of good sportsmanship.

"If you don't mind me asking, can I have your name and number so that I can challenge you again when I get stronger?"

"Sure," replied the Quilava's trainer. Croconaw's trainer pulled out a orange Pokegear and flipped it open. "My name's Roy Mustang. My number is seven seven three. Two six eight. Nine five three one."

"Thanks," said Croconaw's trainer. "I'll call you so we can set up an arrangement for a battle."

Croconaw's trainer gave Mustang a deep bow before heading up the road in the direction of Cherrygrove City.

Ed remembered Alphonse telling him that it was a custom to exchange phone numbers with other trainers to share tips, items, and have a rematch. With the way Mustang trained his Quilava there was no surprise that Croconaw's trainer would want another battle with him.

"Let's see," said Mustang turning his attention to Ed and Winry. "Who do we have here? Coming from the direction of New Bark Town, beginner Pokemon, short height," he listed. "I gather that you're new trainers."

Ed's body began to tremble with rage when Mustang had said the word 'short'.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT THEY'RE EASILY TRAMPLED BY WEEDLE!?" exploded Ed.

Mustang laughed.

Ed found the light sound irritating. Suddenly he wasn't interesting in Mustang, or his powerful Quilava.

"Let's go, Winry," he said.

Ed walked passed Mustang without giving the man a second look. He no longer cared about him, or his powerful Quilava.

"You're not really thinking about doing the Johto Gym Challenge with **that** Pokemon, are you?" asked Mustang.

Ed whipped around to face the older male. He didn't like the tone in Mustang's voice. It was more aggrivating than his laughter.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" asked Ed.

"As a fire Pokemon trainer, I can tell that Pokemon will have difficulty learning fire type attacks."

"What do you mean?" asked Winry. "Cyndaquil is a fire type Pokemon so naturally it should learn to use fire type moves."

"He has no idea what he's talking about," yelled Ed. "I'll show you just how great my Pokemon is by challenging you to a battle."

Winry let out a gasp of surprise while Mustang folded his arms considering Ed. There was a seriously determined expression on the young trainer's face. To make such a bold request when it was clear that Mustang was experienced was shocking.

"Alright, I'll except your challenge," commented Mustang.

"Ed, are you sure?" asked Winry. "This will be you and Cyndaquil's first battle. Defeat can be-"

Ed wasn't interested in any of this. He just wanted to beat Mustang and wipe the smug look off his face.

"It wouldn't be fair for me to use Quilava, so I'll show you my weakest Pokemon," said Mustang. "It could use some more training."

Mustang moved some feet away making room between him and Ed so that they're Pokemon had enough room to battle. He turned to face the kid.

"This is our first battle, Cyndaquil," Ed told the small Pokemon at his feet. "Let's get out there and win."

"Quil," agreed Cyndaquil.

Cyndaquil ran out onto the field a few feet from Ed. It got into an attack stance waiting for Mustang to call out its opponent.

Winry immediately found something wrong with Cyndaquil's stance. She knew from reading books on Pokemon that Cyndaquil ignited the flames on its back whenever it battled. Ed's Cyndaquil, however, was ready to fight without attempting to call forth its flames.

Mustang pulled out a small Pokeball from around his waist. He pressed the button in the middle making it larger.

"Let's light it up, Slugma!" said Mustang throwing the Pokeball.

The Pokeball made a popping noise emitting a white light. A fiery slug appeared feet in front of Cyndaquil. It had large yellow eyes with dilated pupils.

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" asked Ed.

Winry dug into the side of her bag pulling out her Pokedex. She pushed the button on top opening the dual screen. Pointing it at the Pokemon in front of Mustang, the screen flashed as the Pokedex scanned for the information. The slug Pokemon appeared on the top screen while its stats appeared at the bottom.

"Slugma," the Pokedex said. "The Lava Pokemon. It never sleeps, it has to keep moving because if it stopped, its magma body would cool and harden."

"That explains the wide eyed expression," said Winry.

Winry was surprised that Mustang would choose such a slow Pokemon compared to the speed of Cyndaquil. Other than speed, Cyndaquil and Slugma looked equally matched. Slugma looked to be a few levels higher.

"You can have the first attack," said Mustang.

"And the last one!" commented Ed. "Cyndaquil, tackle!"

Cyndaquil went rushing towards Slugma at full speed. The Pokemon was a blue and white blur against the green of the grass.

"Slugma, dodge it," ordered Mustang.

Cyndaquil jumped towards Slugma to complete the tackle. Slugma suddenly became a puddle of molten lava, sinking down to the ground to avoid the attack. Cyndquil looked back in surprise as it flew over the slug Pokemon.

"That won't work a second time," said Ed. "Tackle again!"

Cyndaquil landed on all fours. It skidded across the ground for a second before turning around and pushing forward going in for another attack. The friction between the dirt and Cyndaquil's feet gave the attack more power.

"Use ember!" Mustang told Slugma.

Slugma reformed. It opened its mouth sending embers towards the launching Cyndquil.

"Quillll!" cried Cyndaquil as it was hit in the face by the small flames.

"Cyndaquil!" Ed called with worry.

Cyndaquil hit the ground rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. The ember attack didn't do much damage, but there were scuff marks from making harsh contact with the ground.

Cyndaquil gritted its teeth as it pushed itself to four legs. All four legs were shaking as the smaller Pokemon tried to remain upright.

"Hang tough," said Ed. "Let's use tackle again!"

Cyndaquil charged towards Slugma. The wide eyed Pokemon stood still watching as Cyndaquil got closer. It was waiting on Mustang's next command.

"Let's end this," said Mustang. "Yawn!"

"Yawn?" repeated Ed.

"Ed, be careful," said Winry. "Yawn is a move that puts its target to sleep."

"Cyndaquil, watch out!"

Cyndaquil was moving too fast to suddenly change directions. It dug its feet into the earth trying to slow down enough to move out of the way. Unfortunately, the Pokemon didn't move fast enough to avoid the large transparent bubble that Slugma had released.

The bubble hit Cyndaquil in the face popping as it made contact. Cyndaquil stopped in its tracks swaying on the spot before falling to the ground in a deep sleep.

"Now finish it with ember!" commanded Mustang.

Slugma opened its mouth releasing its ember. Cyndaquil woke up the moment the hot flames touched its body. The poor Pokemon cried in pain as it was sent flying back. Cyndaquil crashed onto the ground where it remained motionless.

"And that's that," said Mustang.

He aimed Slugma's Pokeball at it calling it back inside. Ed ran the length to his injured Cyndaquil, dropping to his knees so that he could pick up his Pokemon.

"Cyndaquil, are you alright?" he asked.

Cyndquil shifted weakly so that it could look at its trainer through small eyes.

"Quil," it replied weakly.

"I'm sorry," apologized Ed.

Winry didn't know what to say to Ed. She had seen some Pokemon battles against other trainers who had come to check on their Pokemon. She knew that losing to another trainer made one's heart heavy. The trainer not only felt that they let themselves down, but their Pokemon down as well. She wouldn't be surprised if Ed was feeling the same way.

Mustang shrunk Slugma's Pokeball and placed it back on his belt. He made his way over to Ed who's head was now bowed towards Cyndaquil's body. One would think he was giving the Pokemon kisses.

"Ed, was it?"

"Don't," said Ed.

"Listen-"

Ed shot to his feet still clutching Cyndquil. He looked at Mustang with a pure look of loathing. His eyes were wavering as he tried to hold back the tears that threaten to burst.

"Don't talk to me!" he shouted.

Ed didn't want to hear Mustang's taunts or see that celebratory dance he did with Quilava. Before Mustang could utter a single syllable, the younger male ran passed.

Winry looked at her retreating friend with a look of sorrow.

"Don't coddle him," said Mustang when Winry made to go after Ed. She looked at him to see that he was looking in the opposite direction from where Ed had run. "He's a Pokemon trainer. There will be battles he will win and battles he will lose. If he's going to act like this with every loss, he's going to be as good as weak."

"Don't talk about Ed like that," Winry said defensively.

Mustang ignored this.

"If he's a strong-willed as I think he is, then he's going to be a fine trainer. Coddling him will only make him weak." He took a few steps before looking back at Quilava. "Let's go," he said.

Winry watched the dark haired man walk away. He wasn't heading in the direction of New Bark Town so she figured that he was heading towards route forty-six where he would eventually reach a cave that led to Blackthorn City.

Thinking of the city reminded Winry of why she and Ed had left New Bark Town. With all the battling going on she figured that Ed must have forgotten as well.

She ran down the path of route twenty-nine chasing after Ed.

* * *

Winry found Ed sitting underneath the tree that marked the halfway point to Cherrygrove City. Cherry trees were very common around the area of Cherrygrove City. There was even a festival held by the citizens of the city when it is time to harvest the cherries: The Cherry festival.

Ed was kneeling against the tree, one leg was stretched out while the other was pulled back so his knee pointed at the cherries on the top of the tree. He was staring out in the distance. Cyndaquil was lying next to him with its head on its paws. The small Pokemon looked just as sad as its trainer.

Winry took a deep breath before walking towards Ed and Cyndaquil. Both trainer and Pokemon looked up as she approach and then averted their gaze when they saw who had arrived.

"Edward..." Winry said softly.

_Don't coddle him._

Mustang's words echoed through her mind. She wanted to cheer him up the way Trisha would whenever he lost a game at whatever sport he was playing. She would smother him in hugs, kisses, and kind words until Ed laughed. She then would offer him a plate of cookies which he shared with her and Alphonse.

Then again, what if Mustang was right? Ed would become a soft trainer if someone was always holding his hand through the bad. Someone like that would never be able to battle through the gyms let alone make it to the Johto League.

Yes. Mustang was right. Ed needed to get back on his feet.

Winry stepped forward determined to get Ed out of his sulky mood. She stopped when Ed spoke.

"You know," he said softly. "It hurts to lose a battle let alone my first." He glanced down at Cyndaquil. "Cyndaquil was fighting its hardest, but I personally wasn't strong enough."

"Ed..."

There was silence. Winry couldn't think of anything to say.

"Cyndaquil and I are going to keep training so that we're strong enough to beat that pompous man." Ed's voice was no longer soft. It was strong and filled with determination. "The first thing we have to do is get that Pokemon from Shou Tucker so that we can give it to Pinako. I can't do anything until Al gets his starter Pokemon."

Winry had been so worried about Ed being upset about his loss that she forgot that he was able to pick himself up most of the time. Whenever Ed lost, he would continue training until he was better.

"Then we should get to Cherrygrove City," replied Winry.

"Right." Ed and Cyndaquil got to their feet. Cyndaquil climbed up Ed's body until it came to rest on its shoulder. Ed looked at the Pokemon. "We're going to keep training until we're the strong as we can be."

"Quil Cyndaquil," responded Cyndaquil.

"That's the spirit!" Ed walked passed Winry. After he was a foot away from her, he turned. "Let's go," he said. "Pinako and Mr. Tucker are counting on us."

"Right," said Winry.

Ed waited until Winry caught up with him before they continued down route twenty-nine.

* * *

Cherrygrove City was larger than New Bark Town. There were many residential buildings; different stores such as the Pokemon Center, the Poke Mart, the typical grocery store, the doctor's office, toy stores, flower shops, and many more. Each building was complimented by a flowerbed of wild flowers and a towering tree filled with pink flowers and cherries.

The city was filled with the smell of flowers, cherries, and sea breeze. The smell of cherry pies drifted through the air as the residents cooled them on their window sills.

"This place is beautiful," said Winry. "Cities are so much bigger than towns."

"I'll say," said Ed.

He was taking everything in with his eyes. There were many people bustling about the city as they ran errands and chatted with friends. Everyone in the city seemed to be as nice as the residents in New Bark Town.

Cyndaquil, exhausted from the travel and its battle, suddenly slid from Ed's shoulders. Ed caught the Pokemon in time before it hit the ground.

"Cyndaquil, are you okay?" asked Ed. Cyndaquil wasn't okay. Its body was sweating as it breathed heavily. "What do we do?" he asked. "Mr. Tucker's house is still hours away."

"Oh, no," said a voice. "An injured Pokemon."

Ed and Winry looked to their immediate right to see a little girl watching them. Her reddish brown hair was pulled back in two long plaits. She was wearing a simple blue dress with a red tee shirt underneath. Standing next to her was a black dog with a silver plate on its head, one on each leg, and two on its back. It's muzzle and stomach area was a brown color.

"Another fire type Pokemon," said Winry pulling out the Pokedex.

"Houndour," said the Pokedex. "The Dark Pokemon. It uses different kinds of cries for communicating with others of its kind and for pursuing its prey."

"Do everyone in this city like fire type Pokemon?"

"Huh?" said the girl in confusion.

"Houndour is a fire type, right?"

"Yeah. Alexander is a mixture of a dark type and fire type. It belongs to my daddy, but I'm running some errands for him so he told me to take Alexander with me." She smiled brightly. "My name's Nina. What's yours?"

"Uh, Winry," answered Winry. "This is my friend, Ed." She gestured towards Ed.

Nina looked at Ed with wonder. Her mouth widened in a smile as she beamed at the older children. She then remembered the injured Pokemon in Ed's arms.

"Your Cyndaquil needs a Pokemon Center," she said.

"Right," said Ed. "Uh...where's that?"

"Don't worry. Alexander and I will show you the way." She looked down at her dog. "Right?"

Alexander, despite his terrifying face, beamed at the little girl. He barked joyfully wagging his tail.

Nina carefully climbed onto Alexander's back. The Houndour looked back at Ed and Winry, barked twice, and then took off in the distance. Ed and Winry chased after the dog.

Ed kept Cyndaquil clutched in his arms while keeping his eye on the dark dog in the distance. The people walking the streets gave the three kids and dog a look of interest before going back to their activities.

Alexander came to a stop in front of a large square building that looked to be two floors. There was an painting of a white Pokeball underneath the red roof labeling the building as the Pokemon Center.

Nina climbed off Alexander just as Ed and Winry approached the pair. She turned to face them with a smile on her face.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center," she said.

Nina walked over to the door. The minute she stepped in front of the glass, the door slid open automatically. A large lobby was revealed. In the middle of the room was a large counter that held a single computer. There was a rather tall woman with long blonde hair that had been pinned up. A single curly strand of hair was separate from the rest. The woman had a serious look on her face.

"Who's that?" asked Winry.

"That's Nurse Armstrong," answered Nina. "She's going to make your Cyndaquil all better."

Nina, Alexander, Ed, and Winry walked towards the counter. Ed took the opportunity to look around the room.

He noticed that everything had been cleaned and sanitized. There wasn't a trace of grime on the white walls and all of the foot prints left behind were immediately mopped away.

The first floor split into two different ways with the counter sitting in the middle. In front of the counter were chairs and tables where some trainers sat enjoying mugs of hot chocolate and exchanging information. Behind the counter was the back wall that was lined with telephones.

Signs on the left and right side of the room were placed on the wall. The left side was where the center's hospital beds were located including the E.R. section. The right side led to the cafeteria, the bathrooms, and the stairs that led to the second floor where the trainers' rooms were located.

"Hello," said Nurse Armstrong. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center."

"Nurse Armstrong, can you help my Cyndaquil?" Ed asked, approaching the counter.

Nurse Armstrong looked at the injured Pokemon in Ed's arms. She gently lifted the Pokemon out of the boy's arms. She studied it closely, checking for fever, broken bones, and other injuries.

She looked down at Ed.

"Cyndaquil will be fine," she said. "All it need is some rest and a nice meal. I'll sit it in room four. Chansey!" called Nurse Armstrong.

A chubby pink Pokemon came from the corridor on the left. There were three tentacle looking things on either side of its head. There was a large white egg in the pouch where its stomach was located. The Pokemon was rolling a stretcher.

"Chansey! Chansey! Chansey!" said Chansey as it rushed towards Nurse Armstrong.

Nurse Armstrong placed Cyndaquil on the stretcher.

"Take Cyndaquil to room four," said Nurse Armstrong. Chansey wheeled the stretcher back down the hall on the left. Nurse Armstrong turned her attention to Ed, Winry, and Nina. "Why don't you take the time to enjoy the Pokemon Center?"

"Okay," replied Winry. She turned to Ed. "Let's go to the cafeteria and have lunch."

Ed watched Nurse Armstrong type something into her computer before moving away. Now that he was able to see the phones on the back wall clearly, he remembered that he was supposed to call Trisha once he arrived in town.

"Okay," replied Ed. "But I should call my mom first."

Ed looked to his left and right checking the direction for the cafeteria. He spotted a double door on the right side of the hall that was labeled 'cafeteria'. He then headed towards the lobby pulling his Pokegear out as he went.

He fell back into one of the cushioned chairs away from the tables. He opened his Pokegear and dialed his house's number. The house phone rang three times before someone answered.

"Hello?" asked Trisha.

"Hi, Mom, it's me," greeted Ed. "I'm calling to tell you we made it to Cherrygrove City."

"That's wonderful, dear," commented Trisha. "I remember when your father and I went on a picnic in Cherrygrove City. It was one of our first dates."

"That's great, Mom. So, what's Al doing?"

"He went over to Pinako's lab to look at Pokemon. Did you see Mr. Tucker yet?"

"Not yet. We got a little side tracked. We're at the Pokemon Center for lunch."

"I remember when Hoenheim took me to the Pokemon Center. We had just found an injuried Pidgey. That was one of our first dates."

"Geez! How many first dates can you have?"

"We usually did three dates in one night."

"We'll see Mr. Tucker today and then book rooms in the Pokemon Center for the night. We should be back tomorrow afternoon."

"Have fun, dear."

"Bye."

Ed disconnected the Pokegear. He was placing the gear back in his bag when Winry, Nina, and Alexander arrived.

"Everything straight?" asked Winry.

"Yep," answered Ed.

"Great," Nina said happily. "We can have lunch!" She grabbed one of Ed's hands with her two hands. Ed allowed himself to be pulled to his feet and dragged away towards the cafeteria. "Wait until you taste the Pokemon Center's cherry pie. One bite will make all of your problems go away."

"In that case, I want to eat a bunch," said Ed.

He was, no doubt, thinking about making Roy Mustang disappear.

**Thanks so much for the reviews. Also, thanks for being so patient and waiting for this chapter. Having a job and going to school where the teachers are so demanding can be time consuming. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, not sure when I'll be able to post again. Please read and review.**


	3. Of Butterfrees and Caterpies

**Fullmetal Heart of Gold**

**kash30032000**

**Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.**

**Chapter Three: Of Butterfrees and Caterpies**

"Mmm," said Ed chewing on a bit of cherry pie. "Dis ish da besh pie I eva tashted."

Ed, Winry, and Nina was sitting at a booth inside of the Pokemon Center's cafeteria. A rectangular table stood between them. Three ham and cheese sandwiches, two glasses of milk, Ed's glass of apple juice, bags of carrot sticks and pototato chips, and three plates of cherry pie covered the table. The booth made a half circle with Ed and Winry sitting on the ends and Nina sitting in the middle. Down below Alexander sat on the floor eating his own sandwich and pie.

Nina, not knowing she'd be out this long, had only brought enough money for a slice of the Pokemon Center's famous cherry pie. Ed felt guilty about occupying the young child's time so he offered his dinner to her so that she could have lunch. Inspired by Ed's kindness, Winry gave Alexander her dinner and bought an extra slice of pie for Ed.

Winry saw more of Ed's bluntness that she sometimes forgot that he had a kind and sensitive side as well. Ed was a straightforward boy. When things needed to be said, Ed didn't beat around the bush, or sugarcoat his words. In return, Ed demanded that others be straightforward with him. He didn't need the coddling of an adult, he needed answers. It was Ed bluntness that made him come off as rude.

Ed took a sip of his apple juice. He was placing his cup back on the table when he looked at Winry, with pie crumbs around his mouth. Winry blushed when she noticed that she had been staring at the blond.

"Something wrong, Winry?" he asked.

Winry looked away from Ed thinking of an excuse of why she was looking at him. She was about to answer when footsteps could be heard approaching their table. Ed, Winry, and Nina looked up to see Nurse Armstrong approaching their table.

"Nina Tucker," she said. "I apologize for interrupting your lunch, but you're father is on the phone."

"Tucker...?" repeated Ed. He stared at Nurse Armstrong for a moment before slowly turning his head to Nina. He stared at the girl's beaming face for a moment before realization kicked in. His eyes widened. "YOU'RE SHOU TUCKER'S DAUGHTER!?"

Nina laughed.

"That's right," she answered. "My daddy sent me on an errand to get some supplies from the Poke Mart, but I got a little side tracked." Nina slid underneath the table. She crawled to the other side so that she was able to move from the table without going passed Winry, or Ed. She crawled from underneath the table and got to her feet, dusting off her dress. She turned to Ed and Winry. "Would you like to meet him?"

* * *

The phones in the Pokemon Center were very different from the Poke Gear. Apart from the size difference, the phones in the Pokemon Center had video so that the callers could see each other.

On the telephone's monitor was a man with short brown hair and glasses. He had a few strands of hair for his beard and mustache and looked to be in his forties. The background of the video looked like an abandoned house due to the amount of dust, dirt, and Spinarak webs that covered the walls.

"Hello, sweetheart," said Mr. Tucker.

"Hi, Daddy!" chirped Nina. Alexander barked his greeting. "Sorry it's taking us so long to run to the store, but I ran into some new friends."

"Oh?"

Ed appeared in Tucker's view long enough for the blond to smile at the man. His face then turned to one of surprise before he was pushed out of view and being replaced by a blonde. She moved her face closer to the monitor so that Tucker could practically see the shine of interest in them.

"Hello, Mr. Tucker," greeted Winry. "My name is Winry Rockbell, granddaughter of Pinako Rockbell. It's a real pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you Miss Rockbell," replied Tucker. "Professor Rockbell said you would be coming. I hope my daughter wasn't any trouble."

"No, not at all."

Ed shoved Winry to the side so that he could stand in front of the monitor. He threw the blonde an annoyed expression before smiling at Tucker.

"Actually we're the ones causing trouble for Nina," said Ed. "She would have returned by now, but she lended us a helping hand."

"Is that so?" asked Tucker. He turned his head to face Nina. "Well aren't you a big girl? Being so helpful."

Nina swelled with pride.

"We'll help Nina with her errand so that she can hurry back to you."

"That would be great. Thank you."

Winry grabbed Ed by his shoulders and threw him away from the monitor so that she was, once again, the center of Tucker's attention.

"We'll see you real soon, Mr. Tucker," she said. "I can't wait to see that Pokemon you discovered."

Ed got to his feet.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he yelled at Winry.

Winry and Ed started arguing in the background. Ed started shouting about good manners while Winry yelled that Ed was not the perfect gentleman for not obeying the rule of ladies first.

Nina laughed at the feuding kids before addressing her father.

"Alexander and I will pick up those items as soon as we're finished here, so don't worry," she said.

"I won't," replied Tucker. "I'll see you soon. Okay, sweetie?"

"Bye, Daddy."

Nina pushed the button on the keyboard below the telephone to disconnect the call. By now, Ed and Winry were standing in each other's face yelling at the top of their lungs.

Nina didn't have time to stop the feud between the two as Nurse Armstrong approached them carrying a healthy Cyndaquil in her arms.

"I'LL START TREATING YOU LIKE A LADY WHEN YOU START ACTING LIKE ONE!" yelled Ed.

Winry was about to retort when she noticed Nurse Armstrong standing behind Ed. She moved away from the smaller child.

Ed gave Winry a look of confusion looking behind him. His face brightened when he saw Cyndaquil in Nurse Armstrong's arms.

"Cynda! Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil said happily.

"Cyndaquil is all better," said Nurse Armstrong.

Nurse Armstrong loosened her grip on Cyndaquil allowing the Pokemon to jump into its trainer's arms.

"I'm so glad you're doing better," Ed told Cyndaquil, happily. He looked up at Nurse Armstrong. "Thank you so much for taking care of Cyndaquil."

"Don't mention it. Healing Pokemon has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations."

Nurse Armstrong walked away heading back to her counter to provide service to another trainer.

Nina moved away from the phone so that she was standing near Ed and Winry. She watched as Cyndaquil crawled up Ed's arm coming to rest on his shoulder. Her eyebrows knotted in confusion when Ed didn't attempt to place the fire Pokemon in a Pokeball.

"Big Brother," said Nina. Ed looked down at the little girl. "Alexander doesn't go inside of its Pokeball because it's not my Pokemon, but why doesn't Cyndaquil stay inside of its Pokeball?"

"She has a point, Ed," said Winry. "Cyndaquil won't get lost in a busy town and he wouldn't be vunerable to attacks if you kept it in its Pokeball."

"Cyndaquil doesn't want to go inside its Pokeball," said Ed. He raised a hand petting the Pokemon's cheek. "Right?" he asked.

"Quil," confirmed Cyndaquil.

"Whatever." Winry looked down at Nina. "What did your dad need from the Poke Mart?" Nina went into the pocket of her jumper fishing out a folded sheet of paper. Not knowing how to read, she passed the paper to Winry, who unfolded and scanned the contents. "Just some basic Pokemon supplies." She gave the list back to Nina. "Let's get the supplies so we can take Nina home."

Ed nodded in agreement. Nina lifted both her arms taking both Ed and Winry's hands with either hand. Alexander followed behind the three children as they walked out of the Pokemon Center.

The weather had changed during the time they spent in the Pokemon Center. It was much cooler outside and dark storm clouds hovered above. There were also less people on the streets as they took shelter in the Pokemon Center and their homes.

Ed looked up and down the street looking for a sign of the Poke Mart. Nina released his hand to point him in the right direction before grabbing the hand again.

Ed, Winry, Nina, and Alexander walked down the street looking like a family. Not the mother, father, and daughter type of family, but the sisters, brother, and Pokemon type of family. They received warm looks from other people as they passed by.

Just as they were coming to the Poke Mart, the buildings to the left of them vanished being replaced by a large park filled with soft green grass.

The park was broken into six different sections. The basketball court was closer to the street consisting of two hoops. Then there was smaller hoops for younger children feet away from the taller hoops. There was another street to cross before coming to a field of soft grass. The field was large enough for trainers to battle with their Pokemon. About a yard away was the playground complete with swings, baby swings, and a sliding board.

Across the street on the same side as the Poke Mart was a building where the fieldhouse was located as well as the track and field for runners and football or soccer players. Across another street were two baseball fields, which was to the right, and two caged tennis courts which were further away and to the left.

The basketball court with the taller hoops had four boys playing on it, the playground had a few kids playing on the swings and slides as they were monitored by their parents. There was a crowd on the spacious grass watching some type of event. The rest of the park was deserted.

"I wonder what's happening over there," said Nina when she saw the crowd.

The three kids and Pokemon stopped walking to take a look at the scene. They couldn't make out anything other than the crowd standing in front of them.

"Should we go take a look?" asked Ed.

"We better not," replied Winry. "Nina still have to finish her errand and it looks like its going to-" Winry cut her sentence short when she saw a large butterfly with white wings and a purple body fly into the air. "That's...a Butterfree!" she exclaimed.

Winry dropped Nina's hand so that she could run across the street leaving behind a thick trail of dust. Ed and Nina had a quick glance of her back before she disappeared into the thick crowd.

"So much for your errand," said Ed.

"It's okay," commented Nina. "I want to see what's going on over there too."

Nina tugged on Ed's arm signaling that she wanted him to follow her. Being outvoted, Ed obediently followed the young child across the street. Alexander followed behind them.

Once they hit the grassy area of the park, Nina released Ed and ran the length to the crowd. Alexander followed closely behind her. Both of them disappeared from sight as they entered the crowd.

Ed jogged over to the crowd. He forced his way in ignoring the rude comments the others were giving him. When he got to the center of the crowd he saw two trainers having a Pokemon battle.

The trainer closest to him was a teenaged girl with long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was battling with the butterfly Pokemon Ed recognized as Butterfree. The second trainer was a boy that looked around Ed's age. He was battling with a purple rat that looked exhausted from the battle. It was on all fours in an offensive position breathing heavily. Ed recognized this Pokemon as a Rattata.

"Alright, Butterfree," said the Butterfree trainer. "Finish it off with silver wind!"

"Free!" said Butterfree.

Butterfree flapped its wings creating a gust of wind that carried mini sonic booms. The small sonic booms hit Rattata sending the rat crashing into the ground where it remained motionless.

"Rattata, no!" cried the boy.

"That makes fifteen victories for me," said Butterfree's trainer. The butterfly Pokemon landed on the ground in front of her. "Who's next?" she asked. The boy called his Rattata back in its Pokeball before clearing the field for the next challenger. No one moved out of fear of losing the battle. The girl must have been good if she won fifteen victories. "What?" she asked. "No one wants to give me my sixteenth win?"

Winry suddenly let out a squeal of joy. She appeared in front of Butterfree startling both the Pokemon and its trainer.

"Butterfree is one of the coolest bug Pokemon," she said. She squated down so she was face-to-face with the bug Pokemon. "I've always wanted to catch one after seeing all of the beautiful moves it has. Your Butterfree is just adorable. It has such a cute face-" She went on poking Butterfree in the cheek. "And the wings are so beautiful-" She ran her hand up and down Butterfree's wings. "And that silver wind was so powerful-" Butterfree stood proudly at the compliment. "I just love your Butterfree!"

"Thank you," commented Butterfree's trainer. "I raised Butterfree from a Caterpie, the first Pokemon I've ever caught."

"Amazing!"

The girl stared at Winry considering her for a moment. She then smiled.

"Would you like to battle against my Butterfree?" she asked. "You'll be able to see first hand just how strong it is."

Winry got to her feet clasping her hands in front of her.

"I'd love to," she said.

"Hey," called Ed. Winry looked over at him. "Did you forget we were helping Nina with her errand?"

"It's okay, Big Brother," said Nina. "It would be fun watching Big Sis battle. Right, Alexander?" she asked the Houndour.

Alexander barked in agreement.

"Thanks so much, Nina," said Winry.

Winry moved so that she was standing in the same place where the Rattata trainer once stood. This left enough room between her and the Butterfree trainer so they could have enough room to battle.

"Go ahead and call out your Pokemon," said the Butterfree trainer.

Winry grabbed a Pokeball from the side pocket of her bag. She pushed the button around the middle enlarging it.

"Chikorita, go!" she said throwing the Pokeball.

The ball made a popping noise as it open. It emitted white light before Chikorita appeared on the grass in front of Winry. The ball flew back towards the trainer, and Winry snagged it with one hand.

"Chika!" said Chikorita happily.

Butterfree's trainer gave a look of surprise.

"You're going to battle a bug type with a grass type?" she asked in shock.

Winry had chosen Chikorita because that was the only Pokemon she possessed. She was more at a disadvantage for her first battle than Ed was when he had battled against Mustang.

"That's right," replied Winry. "I'll let you make the first move so that I can see more of Butterfree's strength."

"You'll regret it," said Butterfree's trainer. "Butterfree, Psybeam!"

"Free!" said Butterfree as its eyes began to light up.

A bright purple light shot out of Butterfree's eyes. Winry let out a sound of delight as she watched the sparkles dance off the light. It was the most beautiful psybeam she'd ever seen. It was the only psybeam she ever seen.

"Winry, are you just going to stand there staring?" asked Ed. "Attack already!"

Winry blinked. Ed's call had brought her back to reality. She saw Chikorita standing in front of her waiting on her command.

"Dodge it and then counter with razor leaf!" commanded Winry.

Chikorita dodged Butterfree's attack by leaping to the side. It then swung the large leaf on its head sending four leaves at the butterfly. Each leaf had razor sharp edges.

"Deflect it!" called Butterfree's trainer.

"Free! Free! Free! Free!" said Butterfree as it knocked back each leaf with a powerful flap of its wings.

"That was just amazing!" said Winry. "I've never seen a Pokemon do that before."

"Winry, focus!" called Ed.

"Right. Chikorita, vine whip!"

Two vines came from two of the green bulbs in Chikorita's neck. They began to whip filling the air with a cracking noise as they went towards Butterfree.

"Tackle!" said Butterfree's trainer.

Butterfree made zigzagged patterns in between Chikorita's vines as it charged for the leaf Pokemon. The vines began to tangle into a braid as they tried to hit the flying Pokemon.

"Chika!" cried Chikorita as Butterfree made contact.

The vines fell to the ground sliding across the grass while Chikorita skidded back from the force of the attack. Chikorita struggled to its feet. It shook its body to rid itself of pain.

"You can do it, Big Sis," cheered Nina.

Winry analyzed the battle. She then gave a look of determination as she came up with a stragety for her next attack.

"Chikorita," she said. "Vine whip again."

"This again?" said Butterfree's trainer. She watched as Chikorita unbraided its vines and sent them flying towards Butterfree. "You're not the only one who can make repetitive attacks. Butterfree, tackle again!"

Butterfree's trainer was so busy watching the battle that she didn't notice the smirk on Winry's face.

Winry watched as Butterfree drew closer to Chikorita, dodging the vines that began to tangle once again. When Butterfree was close enough...

"Razor leaf!" called Winry.

"Chika!" said Chikorita swinging the large leaf on its head.

Four razor sharped leaves were released hitting Butterfree critically. Butterfree narrowed its eyes as it went flying backwards. The attack hadn't done much damage.

"Tackle!"

Chikorita ran towards the falling Butterfree. It jumped tackling the butterfly sending it crashing into the ground. It received more damage from the friction of the dirt.

"Yes!" exclaimed Ed and Nina.

"Vine whip!"

Chikorita's vines wrapped their way around Butterfree's body. It lifted the butterfly off the ground before sending it down crashing on the opposite side of the ground. This continued six more times before Chikorita sent Butterfree crashing into a tree where it slid to the ground unconsciously.

"I win!" exclaimed Winry.

"Chika!" said Chikorita happily.

It retracted its vines back inside of its neck. It then ran, jumping into Winry's arms. Winry hugged the Pokemon close to her happy at the win.

Butterfree was being sucked into its Pokeball when Ed, Nina, and Alexander ran over to congratulate Winry.

Ed grabbed one of Winry's hands, Alexander placed its front paws on her thighs, and Nina began bouncing up and down happily.

"You're incredible," said Ed. Winry stared at him, shocked by his words. "To think that you pulled off a win using a Pokemon that was at a disadvantage. You are awesome!"

Winry blushed. She turned her gaze from his golden eyes to the hand that was grasping hers.

"Thank you, Edward," she said softly.

"Well that makes two losses," said Butterfree's trainer.

Winry felt Ed release her hand as both of them, as well as Nina and Alexander, turned their attention to the Butterfree trainer. She had approached them while they were talking.

"You're still pretty strong," commented Winry. "You've won fifteen of the seventeen battles. Your Butterfree is amazing."

"Thanks, but I'm still not as strong as Him."

"Him?" Ed, Winry, and Nina repeated.

"...Mustang. I know that I was at a disadvantage with his fire type Pokemon, but he took out my Butterfree with one move. It was a tackle attack."

Ed's fists clenched at the name. His blood boiled just by hearing about Mustang winning yet another battle. Winry noticed this and decided to change the subject.

"If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your Caterpie?" she asked.

"Don't tell me you want to raise a Butterfree too?" asked Ed.

"Of course. I've always wanted one ever since I was a little girl. Remember when that swarm of Butterfree came to New Bark Town?"

* * *

_"Fire Pokemon is to blank as water Pokemon is to grass Pokemon," read seven-year-old Alphonse._

_ Ed, Winry, and Alphonse were sitting in the grass outside of Pinako's Laboratory. Pinako had given them a homework sheet to complete by tomorrow morning. They were the only kids in the town forced to do homework while the others were enjoying their summer vacation._

_ Eight-year-old Edward groaned as he laid back against the grass to look up at the orange sky._

_ "Why do we have to do this?" he asked. "I could spend my time playing baseball."_

_ "Come on, Ed," said nine-year-old Winry. "We'll be starting our training sooner than we think so it's important that we know all of this information."_

_ "But it's summer vacation. I shouldn't have to spend my time during homework. That's what we do during the rest of the seasons."_

_ "We have to do this. I'll be starting my training in the fall."_

_ Ed let out a huff of breath signaling defeat. Winry smiled at winning the battle. She returned to her worksheet although Ed made no movement to go back to his._

_ "The answer is grass Pokemon," said Al. "Water Pokemon is weak against grass Pokemon so grass Pokemon is weak against fire Pokemon."_

_ "Thanks, Al," said Winry, scribbling the answer._

_ "Free! Free! Free!" cried a group of Butterfree._

_ Winry and Al looked up at the sky to see a swarm of purple and white against the cloudless orange sky. Butterfree were happily flying overhead, they're beautiful wings sparkling._

_ "That's so cool," said Winry._

_ "Hi, Butterfree!" called Al, waving._

_ The Butterfree all stopped to look at the children below. They all began to fly in a large circle while waving at them. Winry laughed as she waved back at the bug Pokemon._

_ "Free!" exclaimed one of the Butterfree._

_ The Butterfree did a loop-de-loop before flying down to the children. It stopped in front of Winry's face so she had a front view of the white wings decorated with black designs, the large red eyes on the purple body, and the small fangs underneath the oval shaped nose._

_ "You're so pretty," sighed Winry._

_ "Free," said Butterfree blushing._

_ It moved closed to Winry's face, flapping its wings and tickling her skin making Winry laugh._

_ Ed sat up to stare at the girl and the Butterfree. He smiled at the happy look on Winry's face. He couldn't see the look if he was playing baseball..._

* * *

"Oh yeah," said Ed.

"We'll if you're interested in catching a Caterpie, they're common on route thirty," said Butterfree's trainer.

"That's on the way to Mr. Tucker's house. You can catch one on the way."

Winry blinked at Ed. She was expecting him to refuse saying that they wasted enough time. It was getting later on in the day and they had a couple hours walk to Mr. Tucker's house. The sun would most likely would have set by the time they arrived.

"That's rather nice of you," she replied.

Ed folded his arms looking away, his face flushed.

"I-I'm just saying that i-it'll be good to have a-another Pokemon on the team," replied Ed. "That's all."

"That's true."

"Big Sis," said Nina. "Make sure you catch a good Caterpie. Okay?"

Winry laughed.

"Okay." She looked down at Chikorita. "Let's add a new friend to our team. It'll be our first catch."

"Chika!" responded Chikorita.

* * *

Gently raindrops fell from the sky as Ed, Winry, Nina, Cyndaquil, Chikorita, and Alexander walked down route thirty looking for signs of Caterpie.

Nina clutched a small grocery bag filled with a basic supply kit to her chest. She was wearing Ed's red hoody that looked like a long dress on the small girl. The sleeves came well passed her hands making it difficult to hold the bag.

She and Alexander were leading the way, not because Nina knew the way to her own house, but because Ed and Winry would stop occassionally to check the area around them for Caterpie. Winry would search underneath the greens leaves on the ground while Ed would climb up the trees to search the branches.

Winry was determined. No matter how many bushes, piles of leaves, or branches they checked, she refused to give up her search.

Nina and Ed were very patient with her. Nina would always wait patiently as the young blonde searched the area for Caterpie. When Winry ran to the trees that Ed had climbed, he would always look down at her with a sad smile on his face shaking his head. She would get discourage, but Ed's smile was enough to keep her going.

This went on until they were five minutes from Nina's house. The rain was now falling more heavily drenching their clothing. Even Nina, who was protected by the hood of Ed's hoody, was now soaking wet.

The chances of finding a Caterpie was now slim thanks to the rain. The bug Pokemon would have most likely taken shelter inside of a bush or tree.

"Hold on," called Winry.

Nina, Ed, Cyndaquil, and Alexander turned to face the blonde. It had been a while since the last time they had stopped. They were standing near a cluster of trees, a perfect place for Caterpie to be found.

"What is it?" asked Ed.

"I'd like to check the trees before we get to Mr. Tucker's house."

Ed didn't reply at first. He wanted to tell her no because they were all soaked to the bone from the rain. He, however, had already told her that they would let her catch a Caterpie. He didn't want to go back on his word.

Ed silently went to the nearest tree and began climbing. Winry sent him a smile filled with gratitude before she went to the tree opposite of Ed's to look in a pile of leaves below.

She didn't find any Caterpie, but she did find a pile of Weedle shivering together underneath the leaves. She sighed, dropping the leaves back on top of the Weedle.

"Winry, up here!" called Ed.

Winry whipped her head in the direction Ed's voice was coming from. On top of the branch that Ed was crouching on was a Caterpie. It seemed oblivious to the two trainer's watching as it munched on a leaf.

"Yes," said Winry. "This is our chance. Chikorita, razor leaf!"

"Chika!" said Chikorita.

It swung the large leaf on its head sending four razor sharp leaves at the branch both Ed and the Caterpie occupied.

The razor leaf cut the branch from the tree getting a panicked cry from Ed. He then cried out in pain as he hit the ground with a loud thud. He was now sprawled on his back with a terrible pain in his back and tail bone.

"That...wasn't necessary," he groaned.

Winry ignored him. She was focused on the Caterpie that was now glaring daggers at her and Chikorita after having its meal interrupted.

"Chikorita, tackle!"

Chikorita ran towards Caterpie. The caterpillar shot a web-like substance out of its mouth. The string of web caught on to Chikorita's leg just as the Pokemon jumped to complete the tackle. Chikorita looked down at it with a look of surprise.

"What's that?" asked Nina.

"It's string shot," answered Winry. "Chikorita, use razor leaf."

Chikorita landed on the ground, Caterpie's string shot still attached to its leg. It swung the large leaf on its head sending four leaves at the caterpillar.

Caterpie cried in pain as it was hit directly. Being a bug Pokemon, the razored leaves didn't do much damage. The leaves, however, had enough force to knock the caterpillar to the ground.

Winry pulled off her pack so that she could rummage inside of the smaller compartment for one of her empty Pokeballs. Once she had the small ball in her hand, she shouldered her bag. She pressed the button in the middle of the ball making it grow larger.

At this point, Ed had recovered enough from his fall so that he was able to sit up. He now had a view of Chikorita standing in front of a fallen Caterpie. Winry was standing behind her Pokemon with a Pokeball in hand.

"Pokeball, go!" she said throwing the Pokeball.

The Pokeball went flying at Caterpie. It bounced of the caterpillar opening and encasing Caterpie in a red light. Caterpie was sucked into the ball which landed on the ground and began to wobble. The button in the center of the ball began to flash.

Ed, Winry, Nina, Alexander, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil stared intently at the ball wondering what was going to happen next.

The flashing light turned to a solid white color as the ball stopped moving. Caterpie had no intentions of leaving its Pokeball: it was caught.

Winry ran over to the Pokeball, lifting it out of the grass.

"I did it!" she exclaimed. "I caught a Caterpie!" She began jumping up and down clutching the Pokeball. "I can't wait to train it! I can't wait until it evolves into a Butterfree!"

Ed started when Winry sharply turned to him.

"W-What?" he asked.

He was afraid that she was going to force him to battle her Caterpie so that it could quickly evolve. He imagined her forcing him not to let Cyndaquil use any attacks so that Caterpie could have an easier time. The battle would be as painful as if she had hit him in the head with a wrench.

Winry just smiled at him. Ed watched as the blonde walked passed her still clutching Caterpie's Pokeball. She stopped alongside Nina, said some words that he couldn't hear, and walked off with the young girl.

Ed stood near the tree with a baffled expression on his face.

"I'll never understand that girl," he said.

"Quil," replied Cyndaquil.

Ed looked down at his partner, a small smile appearing on his face. He and Cyndaquil trailed after the two girls and other two Pokemon. They were finally going to Shou Tucker's house.

**Some child-like romance in this chapter, if you couldn't tell. I'm not the best romance writer, but hey...Anyway, please read and review.**


	4. Trouble at the Pokemon Lab

**Fullmetal Heart of Gold**

**kash30032000**

**Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.**

**Chapter Four: Trouble at the Pokemon Lab**

He had been watching the lab all day from sun up to sundown waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. He just sat, crouching at the window watching the daily activities of Professor Pinako's Pokemon Lab.

At first he was going to make his move during the morning when the old Professor had left the lab to make a house visit. He was just about to move when the woman returned prematurely grumbling about young children and sleeping into the afternoons during the summer.

He didn't have another chance until after the two children had left from the laboratory. The Professor had gone upstairs to handle some business after they had left. Unfortunately, the moment she left, a boy with golden blond hair that was darker than the first blond had arrived. He waited patiently for the boy to leave, but waited in vain as the boy decided to feed and play with the two Totodile that had been left behind.

He was running out of time. It was bad enough that the first golden haired child had taken the Pokemon he wanted to pick out. If he waited too long, he would end up getting the Pokemon that danced around like an idiot.

He wasn't old enough to train Pokemon. He was just going to get one by using the five finger discount. Yes. He was going to steal the Pokemon from the lab and for good reasons. He wanted to travel and compete in the the Johto league. He was tired of waiting at home with his younger brother and mother.

He had run away from home to fulfill his dream. It wasn't until he left his hometown that he realized his problem. He didn't have a single Pokemon to start off with. He thought about catching a Pokemon, but he didn't have a Pokemon to battle with nor did he have Pokeballs. That's when stealing became his option.

He had seen an advertisement on TV about Professor Pinako giving out starter Pokemon for this season of training. Pokemon were given to trainers four times a year. In January, at the start of the new year; April, during the spring time; late June, during the summer time; and late September during autumn. Depending on the season during, or after a trainer's tenth birthday is when Pokemon were avalible to them.

He had a whole year to wait. He wasn't going to wait any longer. Well, he wasn't going to wait another year. He was just going to wait until the old Professor had gone to bed.

Speaking of the old Professor, Pinako had returned downstairs where the boy was still playing with the Totodile. Actually he was playing with one of the Totodile. The other Totodile had a rather serious demeanor.

He watched as Pinako spoke some words to the young boy. The boy nodded, spoke some words to the Totodile, and then turned to leave.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy as he made his way to the entrance. His legs were aching from crouching all day. He blamed his pain on the boy.

The boy left out of his view. He heard the door open.

"Good night, Professor," said the boy.

The door closed and he heard footsteps walking away from the building. The footsteps stopped for a moment before resuming.

It was almost time...

* * *

"Daddy, I'm back!" called Nina.

Nina pushed opened the front door revealing the dark hallway. To their immediate left was another dark room while a staircase was to their right where it was equally dark.

Alexander led the way passed the stairs and dark room heading towards the end of the long hall. Nina allowed Ed, Winry, Chikorita, and Cyndaquil to walk passed her each looking like they were breaking into the house. Nina closed the door and went after them.

Ed noted that the house was covered in a fine layer of dust and webs. There were Spinarak scurrying up the walls into the corner of the room. Ed glanced at them not knowing if they belonged to Mr. Tucker, or if they were just wild Pokemon taking shelter in the dusty house.

"Hello," called Ed. "Anyone home?"

"Mr. Tucker," called Winry.

Towards the end of the hall was a door to the left, which was closed, and a doorway to the right where light was shining. Alexander led them to the right where the kitchen was located.

The kitchen was just as dusty as the hall. Dirty dishes cluttered the sink, tables, and counters. Garbage was spilling out of the large trash bags that littered the floor. This gave the house a moldy, old food smell. The once white walls were covered with food stains that matched the stains on the floor, counter, and table.

Nina couldn't possibly live here. The house was such a mess. Didn't Mr. Tucker have time to do the daily cleaning? Was he so emerged in his studies that he neglected the housekeeping? And if so, where was Mrs. Tucker? Surely she could have cleaned the house while Mr. Tucker was busy with research.

"Daddy must be in his office," said Nina. "I'll go get him."

Nina left out of the kitchen going over to the door on the opposite side. She opened the door revealing a staircase that led down into the basement. She took a single step before jumping out of the way as a Rattata scurried up the steps and down the hall. Again, Ed didn't know if this Pokemon belonged to Mr. Tucker, or if it was just a wild Pokemon that enjoyed living in the filth.

Nina let out an embarrassed chuckle before descending the stairs. Ed wanted to lean against the counter, but the dust covered appliances kept him from doing such. Winry took a seat in one of the vacant chairs at the kitchen table. Chikorita jumped into her lap.

"Mr. Tucker certainly isn't the most organized guy," she said.

"I know," agreed Ed. He kept his voice at a whisper as not to let the Tuckers over hear. "He has Rattata and Spinarak all over the place. That's not normal."

"Well maybe it is." Ed gave Winry a confused look. "Tucker researches Pokemon so naturally he'll have his research in his house."

"That's close, Winry, but no pickle," said a voice. Ed and Winry startled at the voice. They looked at the door where Nina had disappeared to see her returning with Shou Tucker. "The Pokemon just love it here. Can't imagine why."

Ed sweat dropped. He knew exactly why Rattata and Spinarak loved Tucker's house so much. It was because of all the free food he had lying around the house.

Nina and Tucker entered the kitchen. Tucker smiled at his guest for a second before he took notice of Cyndaquil.

"Quil?" said Cyndaquil, confused. It tilted its head to the side as it considered Tucker.

"Amazing," said Tucker in awe. He went over to Cyndaquil kneeling down in front of the Pokemon. "I've seen a lot of Cyndaquil, but none like this."

"What do you mean?" asked Ed. "Cyndaquil looks exactly like the Cyndaquil in the Pokedex."

"I can't exactly place it, but..."

Tucker went into a lapsed of silence as he stared at Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil remained perfectly still, staring as well.

"Mr. Tucker?" interrupted Ed.

Tucker blinked breaking contact. He got to his feet, pushing his glasses further up the brim of his nose.

"I apologize," he said. "I would love to see Cyndaquil in a battle for a test of strength."

"Daddy," said Nina. "Did you forget that Big Brother came here to speak to you about something?"

"Oh, my. You're absolutely right. You came here looking for the new Pokemon. Come into my office."

Tucker left out of the kitchen heading back to the basement. Ed, Winry, Nina, and Cyndaquil followed behind him.

The basement area was dark. Ed had to hold the railing as he slowly made his way down the stairs. He could feel the second layer of dust gathering on his hand as he followed Tucker, who was wiping away the first layer. Winry was carrying Chikorita so she wasn't touching the railing. Nina, who was bringing up the rear, was likely wiping away the third layer of dust leaving forty five more layers left until the railing was clean.

At the bottom of the staircase was a spacious room. There were work benches along the four walls each littered with books, papers, charts, Pokeballs, computers, and other electronic gadgets. There was a lamp on the end of each work bench. Each lamp was flickering weakly.

"Sorry about the mess," said Tucker. "I've been busy with my research that I don't have time to clean."

"Mr. Tucker, don't you have a wife?" asked Winry.

"My wife died two years ago. It's just been me, Nina, and Alexander ever since." Ed, Winry, Cyndaquil, and Nina followed Tucker to the work bench on the far most wall. This seemed to be the main bench as it held the most charts, books, and papers. "Now what did I do with..."

Tucker began searching the work bench as Ed took in the progress of Tucker's research. The books that lay open on the desk showed pictures of Spinarak from different angles. There were arrows pointing at different parts of the bug type Pokemon and writing that spoke in details about each part.

There was a picture of a Spinarak on the screen of the computer along with the basic stats of the Pokemon. Lying next to the key board was a chart showing the Pokemon's favorite food.

"So was Spinarak your recent study?" asked Ed.

"No," answered Tucker. "I just haven't had time to put those notes away. I've been studying this-aha!" he exclaimed.

Tucker turned to Ed and Winry holding a mysterious white egg with red and blue colorful shapes on the shell.

"A Pokemon egg?" asked Winry.

"When I found this egg, I immediately checked the books to see what the egg would hatch into. This particular egg wasn't found in any of the books I own. I was hoping that Pinako would know a little something about this egg."

Tucker took off a golden colored top off of a spacious glass cylinder. He carefully placed the egg inside, screwed on the top, and handed the cylinder to Ed.

Cyndaquil climbed up Ed's body so that it could get a better look at the egg. Neither Pokemon nor trainer had seen a Pokemon egg up close. They were both wondering what type of Pokemon would hatch. Only time would tell.

"Now that we have all of that straightened out," said Tucker. "How about you kids get out of those wet clothes and get some dinner?"

"Dinner sounds awesome," chorused Ed, Winry, and Nina.

* * *

A loud crash could be heard from outside. Al groggily sat up in bed staring outside of the window at the front yard. He squinted into the darkness of the outside world to see that the garbage cans he had taken out front earlier that night had been knocked over. Scraps from today's meals littered the pavement in front of the yard.

Al gave a yawn before pushing back his blanket. He swung his legs out of bed, stumbled into his slippers and began making his way out of the room. He had to pick up the garbage before wild Pokemon swarmed their yard.

He stepped out of room into the dark hallway. The house was silent as the only other occupant was currently sleeping. The hall was usually filled with Ed's loud snores and his occassional mumbles.

The last time Al heard from his brother, he and Winry was staying at Shou Tucker's house. Ed refused to tell him about the Pokemon that Tucker had discovered. The only thing he had said was that it was a secret.

Al went into the front yard. He stopped a couple of feet from the garbage when he noticed a blue tail poking out of the garbage. It was wagging as the creature inside rummaged through the trash.

Al smiled.

"The best stuff is at the top of the trash," he said.

The tail twitched before going still. The blue Pokemon pulled itself out of the garbage can turning around to face Al. It was a Totodile. It's face broke into a wide smile when it saw Al.

"Toto Toto Dile!" it said happily.

"Hey, wait," Al said slowly. "Aren't you the Totodile from Professor Pinako's lab?" Totodile confirmed this when it began to hop happily from one foot to another. "What are you doing out here?"

"Toto Toto Dile-" Totodile clasped his hands and then leaned his head against the topmost hand explaining that he was asleep. "Dile Dile-" It shivered indicating that he got cold. "Toto Toto...Dilllleeee-" Al couldn't understand that part. "Totodile Toto-" Totodile threw itself onto the ground. "Dile-" it pointed at the garbage.

Al cocked his head to the side as he regarded Totodile. From what he could understand, Totodile was sleeping at the Pokemon Lab. It had gotten cold and then ended up in his garbage can?

Al sighed as he went to place the contents back in the garbage can and pick up the can. He understood two things: Pinako was unaware that Totodile had escaped from the lab and that Totodile was hungry.

"Come inside," said Al. "I'll get you some real food and then call Professor Pinako to tell her that you've escaped."

"Totodile!"

Totodile followed Al back into the house. Once they were both inside, Al closed the door behind them and slid on the bolts. He walked to the kitchen turning on the light illuminating the room.

"Have a seat," he said indicating the table.

Totodile walked over to the closes chair as Al went to wash his hands. It walked under the table to shimmy into the chair. It had to stand in the chair so that it could reach the top of the table. When it was settled, it looked over at Al.

Al, hands washed, went over to the fridge to search for some left overs. He found a container of stew that was left over from tonight's dinner sitting on the shelf. He grabbed the container with his right hand and kicked the fridge door closed with his left foot.

He went to the counter placing the container on top. He then pulled a bowl from the cabinet above and a spoon from the drawer below. He placed the bowl beside the container, opened the container, and spooned some stew into the bowl. He took the bowl to the microwave placing the stew inside to warm it. He then went to cover the remaining stew and place it back in the fridge.

Once the stew was warm, Al took it out the microwave, added the spoon, and gave the warm meal to Totodile.

"There you go, buddy," he said. "You eat up, 'kay?"

"Totodile," said Totodile thankfully. It grabbed a spoonful of stew and placed the spoon in its mouth. It didn't chew, but immediately swallowed. "Dile!" It said happily.

"Good, right?"

"Totodile," agreed Totodile.

"You go ahead and eat. There's more than enough."

"Dile."

Al watched Totodile eat for a while before heading over to the phone that was hanging on the wall.

He lifted the receiver before dialing some choiced numbers. He waited patiently as the phone rang. He wouldn't be surprise if Pinako didn't answer her phone. It was rather late.

Pinako picked up on the fifth ring.

"Hello?" asked Pinako's tired voice.

"Hello, Professor," said Al. "Sorry for calling you in the middle in the night, but I found your Totodile outside eating from my garbage can."

"What...?" responded Pinako. "Totodile should be sleeping in the lab. Thank you for calling me, Al. Can you meet me at the lab?"

"Sure thing. I'll bring Totodile over when its' finished eating."

* * *

The sound of Ed's Pokegear ringing interrupted the peace in the Tuckers' home. Ed patted the side of the couch where he was lying looking for the gear. Once he had it in hand, he flipped it opened, and put it to his ear. His eyes were still closed.

"Welcome to McDonalds," he said tiredly. "Home of the Whopper."

"Brother, wake up," said Al's voice. "This is serious. You've got to come back to New Bark Town."

Ed opened one eye and sat up so that he could look out of the window. It was still dark outside.

"I can't come back now. Still dark."

"But it's important!"

Ed opened the other eye as he noticed the urgency in Al's voice. Did something happen at home? He was now alert and worried.

"What's the matter?"

"Someone broke into Pinako's Lab and stole one of the starter Pokemon," informed Al.

* * *

Ed came to a stop doubling over to catch his breath. After saying good bye to the Tuckers, he ran down the majority of route thirty all the way to Cherrygrove City.

He had woken up early that morning to relay Alphonse's message to Winry. They both thought that it was important to return to New Bark Town ASAP. However, Winry wasn't in much of a hurry as Ed.

She ran the first five minutes with him, but stopped to catch her breath. He stopped as well, waiting impatiently for her to start running again. After this happened five times, he decided to leave her behind.

"Ed," called Winry. Ed straightened and looked behind him to see Winry half jogging, half staggering towards him. When she reached him, she collapsed to her knees. "Can we please slow down?" she gasped.

"If we go any slower a Slowpoke's going to pass us," replied Ed. He held out a hand to help Winry stand. "Come on," he said when she refused his help. "Aren't you worried about the lab?"

"Yes, I am. But running all the way to a town that's a day away would cause like a million asthma attacks."

Ed folded his arms.

"Cyndaquil isn't complaining about the pace."

"OF COURSE ITS' NOT! ITS' RIDING ON YOUR SHOULDER!"

"Cyndaquil," said Cyndaquil happily.

Ed didn't want Cyndaquil growing exhausted from running so he allowed the fire mouse to ride on his shoulder. Winry carried Tucker's Pokemon egg in her backpack and placed Chikorita in its Pokeball before chasing after Ed.

Ed turned away from the blonde with a 'hmph' and headed for route twenty-nine. Before he could take two steps, he bumped into something in front of him.

He fell onto the ground with an 'ouch'. His hands stopped his skull from making contact with the pavement. Cyndaquil, however, wasn't so lucky. It went falling off Ed's shoulder tumbling onto the ground.

Ed looked up to see who had knocked him to the ground to see a kid sitting on the ground in the same position. He was much taller than Ed with blond hair and blue eyes. Ed placed him between the ages of thirteen and sixteen.

"You need to watch where you're going, you little brat," said the boy.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT HE CAN USE THE TRACK OF SOMEONE'S SHOE AS A MAZE!" yelled Ed.

The boy wasn't paying attention. He was looking at something behind Ed. Ed gave the boy a confused look before turning to see what was behind him. The only thing behind him was an exhausted Winry and a confused Cyndaquil.

"It's you," said the boy. Ed looked back at him. "You were at Pinako's lab yesterday."

"Do I...know you?"

The blond ignored that question and continued to watch Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil sweat dropped upon the gaze.

"That's the Pokemon I wanted. Makes me sick that it's in the hands of a trainer as pathetic as you."

"Say what?" said Ed, getting to his feet. "You want to come say that to my face?"

"Nah," replied the blond. "My doctor advise me to stand tall. Bad back and all."

"Was that a...WAS THAT A SHORT JOKE?" Winry got to her feet and walked over to Ed. She placed both hands on his shoulders to keep him from jumping on the blond. He struggled against Winry, but the hold she had on him was strong. "How about we have a battle? I'll show you who's the real pathetic trainer."

"That's fine by me," said the blonde.

"Let's battle, Cyndaquil. We'll show this guy just how tough we are."

"Quil," agreed Cyndaquil.

Winry eyes widened. She was shocked at how Ed and Cyndaquil was ready to battle again after losing sorely to Mustang just yesterday. She was sure that they would be afraid to battle for quite some time.

Cyndaquil ran in front of Ed getting into a offensive position. Flames didn't shoot from the circles on its back so it must not be planning on using any fire attacks.

Mustang had told them that Cyndaquil might have trouble learning fire type attacks.

The blond pulled a Pokeball from his pocket. He pressed the button in the middle enlarging it.

"Totodile, go!" he said throwing the Pokeball.

A Totodile with a serious expression emerged from the Pokeball. Ed was sure he recognized the Totodile from Pinako's laboratory. The same laboratory that was just robbed last night.

"It was you," said Winry. "You were the one who stole from my Grandmother's lab."

"And if I am."

"You have to give it back," replied Ed. "That Pokemon doesn't belong to you."

"Please. This Pokemon practically had my name on it. Besides, Totodile doesn't exactly mind being my Pokemon. Right?" he asked the Pokemon.

"Toto," it answered in a serious voice.

"True that I wasn't aiming to choose Totodile, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted Cyndaquil. But now that it has loser-itis I'm better off with Totodile."

Ed's hands balled into fists as his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't about to let someone call his Cyndaquil a loser especially a thief.

"Let's get this battle started," said Ed.

"But, Ed," protested Winry. "We should be getting the police."

"Winry, be quiet. He just insulted Cyndaquil. I can't let him get away with that."

"Good grief," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Have you ever heard the saying 'sticks and stones'?"

Ed ignored Winry.

"I am going to prove that Cyndaquil is a fine Pokemon. Then you are going to come with us to New Bark Town to return Totodile with an apology."

The blond smirked.

"But if I win, you're going to let me go on ahead and you never saw me."

"Fine."

"Ed!" said Winry.

Ed ignored her again. He was confident that he would win. What kind of trainer would he be if he lost his second battle as well?

"We're going to win this, Cyndaquil," said Ed. "Let's start off with tackle!"

Cyndaquil ran on all fours charging at Totodile. The serious expression on the Totodile's face turned tough and confident.

"You're pathetic," said the blond. "You should know better than to start a battle off charging in. Guess we'll have to teach you. Totodile, water gun!"

"Toto-diiiilllee!" said Totodile sending a jet of water towards Cyndaquil.

"Cyndaquil, dodge it!"

Cyndaquil jumped over the water at an angle avoidng the attack completely. It landed back on the ground and continued with the attack like there was no interruption. Totodile canceled the attack, looking at Cyndaquil with surprise.

Cyndaquil slammed into Totodile knocking the Big Jaw Pokemon off its feet. Totodile flipped over hitting its chin on the ground. It then tumbled a few feet.

"Not bad," said the blond. "Totodile, get back on your feet and use water gun."

Totodile pushed itself to its feet. It took a deep breath releasing a powerful water gun attack.

"Cyndaquil, smokescreen," commanded Ed.

"Quillll!" said Cyndaquil breathing out a thick black cloud of smoke.

Totodile stopped the water gun attack as the smoke covered the battlefield. It looked around in a panic before it was engulf in the black smoke along with Cyndaquil.

"Now, Cyndaquil, use your ears to find Totodile. Then use tackle."

"Totodile, you use your ears to find Cyndaquil and then use scratch."

Ed strained his ears to listen to the pattern of feet inside of the smokescreen. There was a lot of movement inside. The footsteps blended together so it was hard to tell Cyndaquil's position.

Cyndaquil suddenly cried in pain. It came tumbling out of the smokescreen landing on its stomach in front of Ed. The smokescreen cleared revealing Totodile.

"You're okay, Cyndaquil," said Ed. "Get back on your feet."

Cyndaquil struggled a bit as it tried to lift his body from the ground. After much effort, Cyndaquil was able to get to its feet. It sent a glare at Totodile.

"Impressive," said the blonde. "But do you attend on using normal attack this entire battle. Show me some fire."

"Okay, I will," said Ed. "Cyndaquil, ember!" Cyndaquil went stock still. Its body broke out in cold sweat and it started to shake. It looked frightened. "Cyndaquil?"

"Just as I thought. Your Cyndaquil is a sap. I'm glad I didn't accept it as my partner."

"What'd you say!?"

"Totodile, let's finish this match with water gun."

"Toto Diiiiilllllleeee!" said Totodile releasing its water gun.

"Cyndaquil, dodge!" commanded Ed.

Cyndaquil appeared to not have heard Ed's words. It stood there shaking as it watched the water come towards it. Ed was sure that Cyndaquil wasn't seeing the actual water.

Cyndaquil cried out in pain as the water made contact with it. Cyndaquil flew back some feet crashing onto the ground.

"Totodile, water gun again!"

Cyndaquil looked in bad shape. It was lying on its stomach with its hands covering its eyes. Ed couldn't tell if it was trying to get a grip on the pain or if it was trying to forget a bad memory.

Winry couldn't stand there any longer watching the battle. She should have stepped in long ago when she first saw the stolen Totodile.

She grabbed her Pokeball and enlarged it.

"Chikorita, protect Cyndaquil with razor leaf!" she commanded throwing the Pokeball.

Chikorita materialized from the Pokeball appearing in front of Cyndaquil.

"Winry...?" muttered Ed.

Chikorita swung the large leaf on its head sending a series of razor sharp green leaves at Totodile. The leaves cut through the water sending it spraying in random directions.

"Ed," said Winry. "Cyndaquil is obviously disturbed by something. Go to it. I'll handle thiefman."

Ed looked over at Cyndaquil. He wondered if its condition had anything to do with using a fire type move.

Ed smiled. Even though Winry was hard on him sometimes, she had his back no matter what.

"Thanks, Winry."

Ed ran over to check on Cyndaquil. He knelt down placing a gentle hand on the fire mouse's back. Cyndaquil stiffened at first before slowly looking up at Ed. It then jumped into his arms, crying. Ed gave Cyndaquil a comforting hug, rubbing the Pokemon's back.

"It's okay," he said softly. "I'm here."

Winry smiled at the scene.

"Hey," said the blond. "That's cheating. You can't leave the battle."

Winry turned her attention back to the thief.

"The battle's over," she said. "You're going to return that Pokemon to my Grandma's lab. Chikorita, vine whip!"

"Chika!" exclaimed Chikorita.

It extended its vine whips, lashing out at Totodile. The Big Jaw Pokemon dodged each whip by jumping back. Chikorita moved forward after two whips to keep up the attack. It was determine to help Winry accomplish the goal of righting the blond's wrong.

The blond aimed Totodile's Pokeball at Totodile. A red light emitted from it returning Totodile to its Pokeball. Chikorita stopped its attack.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but this battle is obviously over. Later!"

"No, you don't," said Winry when the blond made to run off. "Chikorita, vine whip again!"

Chikorita sent out a lone whip. It wrapped around the blond's ankle causing him to trip. He crashed onto the ground. His items spilled from his bag skidding across the ground.

He quickly began repacking his bag unaware that his black Pokegear had slid over in Ed's direction. Ed picked it up off the ground reading the white label that was taped to the center of the gear.

"Property of Russel Tringham," he read.

Russel froze. They knew his name and identity. They could easily leave a description for the police. A simple investigation would tell the police what town he lived in and they would come after him.

"Have you no respect for someone's else's belongings?" asked Russel.

"You're one to talk," replied Winry.

Russel broke free from Chikorita's vine. He got to his feet running away, leaving his Pokegear behind.

"Come back!"

"The next time we meet," called Russel. "You will return that Pokegear."

Winry glared at the retreating boy. She wanted to chase after him, but Cyndaquil and Ed were more important. She ran over to the Pokemon and trainer kneeling beside them.

"Is Cyndaquil alright?" she asked Ed.

"I don't know," answered Ed. He looked down at the Pokemon. "Do you want to talk about this?" he asked it.

"Quil," said Cyndaquil shaking its head. It buried its head further into Ed's chest.

"Perhaps you should speak to Grandma about Cyndaquil. She's the one that captured it so maybe she knows why it can't use fire attacks."

"Yeah..." agreed Ed. "We can also tell her about Russel and give her the Pokemon egg."

Winry got to her feet and offered Ed a hand. He took her hand allowing her to pull him to his feet. She noticed he was still holding the Pokegear.

"What are you going to do with that Pokegear?" she asked.

Ed smiled.

"He wants it back," he answered. "I'll give it back to him. And on that day...Cyndaquil and I will challenge him to a rematch."

Winry stared at Ed for a moment before smiling.

"Okay," she said. "But for now. Let's go home."

Chikorita ran up Winry's body coming to rest on her shoulder. It looked down at Cyndaquil in Ed's arms.

"Chika Chikorit!" it said happily.

Cyndaquil stared at Chikorita. It then smiled and climbed up the rest of Ed's body to rest on the boy's shoulders.

"Cynda Cyndaquil!" it responded happily.

Ed made to move, but stopped when Winry grabbed his hand. He looked down at her hand before looking at her. She was smiling at him.

Hand-in-hand, they walked out of Cherrygrove City heading down route twenty-nine.

**My bads for not updating. I was working on another story I was writing. This chapter would have been put off longer, but a drawing by TheMistOfThePast inspired me to continue, so I would like to say thanks :)**


	5. Return to New Bark Town

**Fullmetal Heart of Gold**

**kash30032000**

**Summary: Join Edward Elric as he goes through the Johto region battling through the gyms with his trusty Pokemon. Follows the game Pokemon Heart Gold with a twist.**

**Chapter Five: Return to New Bark Town**

The perimeter of Pinako's laboratory had been surrounded by yellow caution tape. Two police men were standing guard in front of the caution tape some feet from the entrance of the building. They were making sure that no one interrupted the investigation that was going on inside of the lab.

No one in the town knew that the Pokemon laboratory had been robbed until the police arrived. People stood for hours in front of the lab waiting to get updates about the robbery. The people that grew weary, or had other events to attend walked away only to be replaced by a couple of people that were intrigued by the crowd. They got the story on the robbery from the people who had been standing there long enough. Soon they were interested to hear an update as well.

Just as a couple walked away with their young daughter, Ed and Winry arrived on the scene. Cyndaquil and Chikorita was still resting on their shoulders.

"How long has everyone been standing here?" Ed asked a man.

"I'm not sure," answered the man. "A lot of these people were here before me. I had been standing here for three hours."

Ed looked at the man unimpressed. The man sounded proud when he had spoken. He was proud that he had nothing better to do with his life than stand in front of a crime scene for three hours.

It was how society operated nowadays. When the police was doing an investigation, people looked on with interest hoping to get all of the juicy information.

"Come on," said Winry. "Let's go see Grandma."

Ed and Winry pushed their way through the crowd. The people of the crowd weren't happy about being pushed to the side by two kids. Some gave them dirty looks while others scolded them with colorful language.

When Ed and Winry got to the front of the crowd, they saw that the police was talking to a boy with golden blond hair. From the sounds of things, he was urging the police to let him through. When the police refused entry, Al walked away with his head down.

"Al!" called Ed.

"Brother," replied Al as his older sibling and Winry ran over to him. He took notice of the Cyndaquil on Ed's shoulder. "Hey there, Cyndaquil," he greeted. "It's so nice to meet you in person."

"Cynda Cyndquil," replied Cyndaquil.

Al took Cyndaquil off Ed's shoulders. He held it up and at arms length so that he could get a better look at the Pokemon. Cyndquil smiled down at him.

"You're so cute," cooed Al, pulling Cyndaquil into a hug. He looked over at the Chikorita on Winry's shoulder. "Hi, Chikorita," he greeted. "How are you?"

"Chika!" responded Chikorita.

"What's going on at the lab?" asked Ed.

"No idea," answered Al. He looked back at the policemen. "They arrived last night after I returned Totodile to Pinako. Then I went home to get some sleep. When I came back in the morning the policemen were refusing me entry."

"I'll handle this," said Winry.

She dug into her bag pulling out her Pokedex. She stalked over to the policemen stopping in front of them. She opened the Pokedex and shoved it in front of their faces.

"My name's Winry Rockbell, granddaughter to Professor Pinako Rockbell," she said. "Let us through." The men exchanged a look. They then stepped aside raising the yellow tape allowing Winry to walk under. Once she was on the other side of the tape, she turned to Ed and Al. "Come on, guys. Let's go help Grandma."

Winry placed her Pokedex back in her bag before running towards the laboratory. Ed and Al followed behind her.

Winry opened the door revealing the first level of the lab. It was currently in ruins. The books shelves that once stood tall, filled with books, were now lying empty on the ground. All of the paper that littered the ground was damp.

"Oh dear," said Winry.

She stepped further into the room. Ed softly closed the door before following behind her and Al.

From the look of the room there had been a major struggle during the kidnapping of Totodile. That didn't make sense to Ed because Totodile didn't mind Russel being its trainer. Unless Russel was somehow blackmailing Totodile into doing his evil bidding.

"No one's here," noted Winry. "They must be in some other part of the lab." She cupped a hand to her mouth. "Grandma, are you here?" she yelled.

"Totodile," called Al.

"I told you the criminal would return to the scene of the crime," said an unfamiliar voice. "Arcanine, use your take down!"

A large dog with orange, black, and white fur jumped from out of the door that led to the rest of the lab. It landed on all fours before running towards Ed, Winry, and Al at a blinding speed.

The three kids let out a cry of terror before breaking off and running in opposite directions. The large dog landed in the spot where the kids were standing a second earlier. It got into a crouching position as it growled menacingly.

"That's an Arcanine," said Al.

"Arcanine?" repeated Ed.

Winry pulled out her Pokedex. She flipped it open before pointing the handheld machine at the dog.

"Arcanine, the Legendary Pokemon," it said in its robotic voice. "Arcanine is the evolved form of Growlithe. This legendary Pokemon is considered magnificent. Many people are enchanted by its great mane."

"Arcanine looks mad," said Winry.

"Brother, give Cyndaquil a command," said Al.

"Huh?" replied Ed, confused.

"Arcanine is a fire type. A Pokemon like Chikorita would be at a huge disadvantage."

"Right. Cyndaquil, use your leer!"

Cyndaquil jumped out of Al's arms. It ran over towards Arcanine until it was a couple of feet away from the Legendary Pokemon. Cyndaquil stared Arcanine straight in the eye leering at the Pokemon.

Leer was a move that lowered the target's defense. Arcanine, however, stared at Cyndaquil with a bored look on its face. Cyndaquil continued to leer at Arcanine. Its body began to shake as it tried to scare the Pokemon into submission.

"Keep it up, Cyndaquil. You're almost there!"

Cyndaquil wasn't even close.

"This isn't working, Brother. Switch to another attack. Maybe a fire move."

"...Cyndaquil can't use fire attacks," admitted Ed.

"Arcanine, take down," said the voice.

Arcanine ran towards Cyndaquil. In a blinding flash, Cyndaquil was sent flying towards Ed. The blond caught the Pokemon in his arms. Cyndaquil knocked into his chest causing him to lose breath.

Ed fell over backwards and was pinned seconds later by Arcanine. The Legendary Pokemon moved its face so that it was inches from Ed's. It began growling showing its razor sharp teeth.

"You've been caught, thief," said the voice. "Don't move, or Arcanine will use his fire fang."

A man in his late twenties entered the room. He had black hair that matched his dark eyes. He looked a lot like Roy Mustang except garbed in a police uniform.

"Wait," said Winry. "Aren't you Roy Mustang?"

"Hmph," replied the Mustang look alike. "Don't compare me to that wayward moron. He's given up the family dream of being a policeman to become a fire Pokemon trainer."

"So...you're not Roy Mustang?"

"No. I am Roy's older brother Ray Mustang." He struck a quick pose. "I take it you've met my brother?"

"Yeah. On our way to Cherrygrove City."

"I hate to break up this friendly conversation," said Ed. "But could you please call off your Arcanine?"

" 'Fraid not, kid," replied Officer Mustang. "I'm taking you in for questioning."

"You've got it all wrong, Officer," said Al. "My brother's not the thief. He was in Cherrygrove City at the time of the kidnapping."

"Is that true?"

"Yes," answered Winry. "Plus we know the identity of the real thief."

"Not to mention that's my Granddaughter's friend that you're accusing," said a new voice.

Pinako walked into the room along with a female police officer. Her long blonde hair was clipped into something that resembled a hawk's tail. Her brown eyes locked onto Arcanine pinning down Ed.

She sighed and turned her attention to Officer Mustang.

"Sir," she said. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sic your Pokemon on other people?"

* * *

"So, you're Miza Hawkeye and Ray Mustang?" asked Ed. "And you're both in charge of investigating the case of the stolen Totodile?"

"That's right," answered Officer Hawkeye. "I apologize on the behalf of my partner. You see, he's an idiot."

"Hey..." said Officer Mustang.

Pinako, Ed, Winry, and Officers Mustang and Hawkeye were sitting at a small round table in the lounge of the Pokemon laboratory. A plate of small cakes were sat in the center of the table and a cup of tea was placed in front of each person.

The five of them decided to head to the lounge to discuss the matter of the thief who stole Totodile while Al was left downstairs to play with Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Chikorita. Arcanine remained downstairs to keep an eye on things.

Winry stared at Officer Mustang in awe. Officer Mustang was just lowering his tea cup when he noticed her looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

"I still can't get over the fact that you look so much like Roy Mustang," she replied.

"That's because all of the Mustang brother's look alike." Officer Mustang reached into his shirt pulling out a photo album that was as thick as a seventy page spiral notebook. He flipped to a page and showed it to Winry and Ed. There were about twenty people crowded around in one picture. They all looked like Roy Mustang. "It's a Mustang's duty to become a police officer and spread throughout the Johto region lending a hand. I'm the Officer Mustang working in New Bark Town."

"It's the same thing with the Hawkeye family," said Officer Hawkeye. "We Hawkeyes exist to protect the Mustangs."

"Let me guess," said Ed. "Someone in your family ran off to become a regular trainer as well?"

"Well that's what she started off as, but now she's a gym leader."

"Really? Which one?"

"Perhaps we should talk about the stolen Totodile," suggested Pinako. She looked at Winry. "You said that you knew the identity of the thief."

"On our way out of Cherrygrove City we saw a kid with blond hair," replied Winry.

"Aha!" Officer Mustang exclaimed, hitting the table with his hands and getting to his feet. He pointed at Ed. "_He_ has blond hair!"

Ed bit into one of the cakes before turning his head slightly sideways so he wouldn't have to look at Officer Mustang's accusing glare.

"We told you it wasn't me," said Ed, chewing on cake.

"He's right," said Winry. "His name was Russel Tringham. We even have proof that we met him. We have his Pokegear." She looked at Ed. "Show them."

Ed stuffed the rest of the cake in his mouth before reaching down for his pack beside him. He sat the bag in his lap, rummaging inside before pulling out the black Pokegear he acquired from Russel. He placed it on the table and slid it towards Officer Hawkeye.

Officer Hawkeye picked up the Pokegear. She examined the outside, noting the name tagged to the device. She flipped the device opened.

"Hmm," she said as she scanned the contents. She began pushing buttons. "I'm going to call his mother. It's the only number listed in his phone."

Officer Hawkeye placed the Pokegear on speaker and then sat the device on the table where they listened to it ring. Someone picked up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" said the voice. It sounded child-like. "Brother?"

The voice sounded hopeful. The five people gathered at the table looked at one another. They was expecting a woman to answer the phone.

"Not...exactly," replied Winry.

"Huh? Who are you?" the voice demanded frightfully. "Why do you have my brother's Pokegear? Where is he?"

The boy was now sounding worried.

"Don't worry...um..."

"Fletcher," answered the voice on the phone.

"Don't worry, Fletcher. Your brother is safe. The last time I saw him was in Cherrygrove City. He dropped his Pokegear and we want to return it, but we don't have an address." Winry was lying through her teeth. It sounded better than calling Russel a thief and telling Fletcher there was a warrant out for Russel's arrest. "Do you think you can help with that, Fletcher?"

"Sure, I can," answered Fletcher. He sounded happy. "We live in the yellow house in Ecruteak City. Are you going to come visit, or are you going to mail the Pokegear?"

"We'll mail it. I'll need the complete address."

"Okay!" Officer Hawkeye grabbed a pen and notebook and quickly jotted down the address. "Miss, if you see my brother again could you tell him to come home?"

"Sure," replied Winry. "Bye, now." Winry hung up the phone. "I feel bad for lying to him."

"We have all the information we need," said Officer Hawkeye. "We'll get your Totodile back." She got to her feet. "Let's go, sir,"

"Hey, I'm supposed to tell you that," said Officer Mustang.

"Well when you grow up and act like an adult, I'll follow your orders."

Officers Hawkeye and Mustang left the room arguing. They could be heard in the hall until they descended the stairs.

Ed grabbed the Pokegear off the table and placed it back in his bag. He had no intentions of mailing the Pokegear to Fletcher. He was going to keep it for the next time he met Russel. If the thief wanted his Pokegear, he was going to have to battle for it.

"Now that that's taken care of," said Pinako. "Did you get a chance to retrieve that Pokemon from Shou Tucker?"

"Oh, right," said Winry. She picked her bag off the floor. "I almost forgot." She opened the bag and pulled the cylinder containing the egg out. "Here it is."

She held the container out to Pinako.

"Figured it'd be another egg," muttered Pinako. She took the egg from Winry. "At least its one I've never seen." Ed watched as Pinako began to examine the egg. He remembered he wanted to talk to Pinako about his Cyndaquil. "Looks like I have my work cut out for me."

"Professor," said Ed. Pinako gave him her attention. "There's something wrong with my Cyndaquil. It can't use fire attacks."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...when I met Roy Mustang, he said something about it was going to be hard for Cyndaquil to learn fire type attacks. Then when I battled Russel, it became frightened when I commanded it to use ember. Do you know why?"

"I've never seen Cyndaquil battle so I had no idea. Perhaps an analysis is necessary."

"You can battle against Caterpie," offered Winry. "Grandma gets to get a look at Cyndaquil and I can get some experience with Caterpie."

"Okay..." replied Ed.

* * *

Al, Pinako, Chikorita, and Totodile were standing on the sidelines out in the backyard watching the battle that was about to happen. This was Al's first time watching his brother battle. He was a little excited.

Totodile was also excited. He placed its hands on the arms that held him tightly as it watched the match. Since meeting Al when he visited the Pokemon lab, they had gotten close.

Ed and Winry stood on opposite sides of the field, Cyndaquil and Caterpie standing in front of their respective trainers. Each looked determine to win.

"Brother's got to win for sure," said Al. "A fire type versus a bug type."

Pinako didn't reply. Cyndaquil, according to Ed, couldn't use any fire type attacks. The only thing Cyndaquil had an advantage on was the level difference. Still that didn't mean anything. Pinako saw the strongest of Pokemon lose against a Pokemon of a weaker level.

"Let's get started," said Winry. "I want Caterpie to gain a lot of experience so don't start off with a fire command."

"Right," commented Ed.

Ed didn't look as determined to battle as Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil looked at Ed with a sadden expression. It returned its gaze to the battle with its spirits lowered.

"Brother, you can do this!" cheered Al.

"Toto Totodile!" cheered Totodile.

Hearing Al's voice encouraged Ed. Al was always cheering him on regardless of what activity he was competing in.

_"Brother, you can do this!"_ he would always say.

"Right," said Ed more determined. "Let's get in there and win."

"Cynda!" said Cyndaquil, toughly.

"Cyndaquil, tackle!"

Cyndaquil rushed down the field towards Caterpie. Al was impressed at the speed of the fire mouse. He watched it in awe.

"Caterpie, string shot!" commanded Winry.

Caterpie let a string of web come from its mouth. Cyndaquil wasn't too worried about the attack. It continued running towards Caterpie dodging the string shots that the caterpillar had to keep adjusting.

Caterpie cried out in pain as Cyndaquil slammed into it. It fell onto the ground rolling back a couple feet.

"Caterpie, are you okay?" Caterpie sat up swaying. "That's the spirit! Use tackle!"

Caterpie shook to rid itself of the pain. It then went charging towards Cyndaquil in what looked like half the speed of the fire mouse's tackle.

"Smokescreen!" Ed said quickly. Cyndaquil used smokescreen to cover the entire field with thick black smoke. Caterpie stopped in its tracks looking around with confusion until it was engulfed. "Now tackle!"

"Brother keeps using tackle," said Al. "He could easily finish things off with a ember attack."

Caterpie flew out of the smokescreen. The smoke vanished just as Caterpie hit the ground harshly.

"Caterpie!" called Winry.

"Now, Cyndaquil, ember!" Cyndaquil went stock still at the command. "Come on, you can do it," Ed encouraged. "Ember!"

"Caterpie, tackle!" said Winry.

Caterpie went charging at Cyndaquil. Before the Pokemon had time to move a single muscle, Caterpie slammed into Cyndaquil. The fire mouse went tumbling backwards stopping at Ed's feet.

Ed knelt down placing one hand on Cyndaquil's back and the other on its stomach.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

Cyndaquil lifted its head weakly to look at Ed. It smiled softly.

"Cynda. Cyndaquil."

"I've never noticed Cyndaquil was incapable of using ember," said Pinako. "Not only that, but it refuses to ignite the circles on its back. Perhaps you would like to trade Cyndaquil for Totodile so that I can analyze Cyndaquil more closely."

"Quil," said Cyndaquil, shocked. It quickly looked at Ed out of fear of its trainer abandoning it because it couldn't use ember. "Quil Quil Cyndaquil," it told Ed desparetly. "Cyndaquil Cynda Cynda!"

Ed looked down at Cyndaquil to see that it was holding his arm tightly. There was tears in its eyes. It was afraid of being replaced.

Ed smiled and petted Cyndaquil on top of the head. Cyndaquil began to calm down.

"Totodile is really attached to Al, huh?" he said. The tears stopped flowing from Cyndaquil's eyes. "What kind of brother would I be to take away my little brother's friend?" Ed lifted Cyndaquil into his arms pulling the Pokemon in for a hug. "Besides...we were made for each other. I just know it. We'll continue training together and we'll figure out this whole fire thing."

Cyndaquil returned Ed's hug, crying onto his chest.

* * *

Ed flinched when Trisha made to smooth back the hair antenna on top of his head.

She and Pinako had come to see Ed, Al, and Winry off. Al was standing with Pinako as he checked the items in his pack. Totodile had been placed inside of his Pokeball. Winry was standing closer to the exit waiting impatiently. Chikorita had been called inside of its Pokeball as well. Cyndaquil was sitting perched on Ed's shoulder.

"Is my little Pikachu ready to go on his Pokemon journey?" she asked.

"Mom, I'm ten-years-old already," protested Ed. "I'm not your little Pikachu anymore."

"Oh, Ed. You'll always be my Pikachu." She succeeded in smashing the antenna flat to his head. "And be sure to look after your brother."

Ed looked over at Al. Al was busying himself by equipping all of his Pokeballs on his belt. For easy access, he told him and Winry.

Pinako had given Ed and Al each five Pokeballs for capturing Pokemon along with Pokedex that were similar to Winry's. Ed's was red and Al's was blue.

Along with those Pokemon devices, the Professor had given Ed a map card for his Pokegear to upload a map onto it. This was more reliable than traveling around based on Winry's memory.

"Don't worry, Mom," he said. "We'll all be fine."

"I'm all set and ready to go," said Al walking over.

"And where exactly are the three of you going?" asked Trisha.

Ed, Winry, Al, and Cyndaquil all exchanged looks. They then began muttering about not having time to make plans for their journey.

"I have an idea," said Pinako. "You should head over to Violet City."

"Violet City?" repeated Ed.

"Roy Mustang has a friend out that way. She may know something about his whereabouts."

"Why are we looking for him?"

"He's a fire Pokemon trainer. If you want to learn a little more about fire-type attacks you should see him. He may be able to help you. Also, if you're interested in competing in the Pokemon League then you should take the Pokemon Gym Challenge. Violet City Gym is the first gym you would need to visit."

Ed pulled out his Pokegear. He flipped it over and then pressed the map symbol pulling up the map of Johto. Violet City was a bit far from New Bark Town. Luckily they would be passing through Cherrygrove City so they could stop there and rest.

A new city! Ed was getting excited just thinking of the adventure he was going to have with his Pokemon and friends.

"Guess we'll get going," said Ed.

Ed made a startled noise when Trisha pulled him and Al into a bear tight hug.

"I'm going to miss the two of you," she said. "You make sure you call every once in a while."

Ed's eyes teared up a bit. In truth he was going to miss his mother even though he always wanted to prove to her that he was grown up.

"I'm going to miss you to, Mom," he said.

She released them.

"Geez, Ed," teased Al. "Get it together."

Ed laughed.

"Right."

Ed, Al, and Winry gave Pinako and Trisha one last wave before turning to leave the town-the town where the three of them grew together. Now they were ready to grow into the world of Pokemon.

**Now the journey has officially begun. What adventures await our three heroes? Read to find out. And please don't forget to leave a review.**


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